Dr. Noel Jacob Kaleekal, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering,NIT Calicut, has won the ‘Kerala State Young Scientist Award-2022’
Dr. Noel Jacob Kaleekal, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering,NIT Calicut, has won the ‘Kerala State Young Scientist Award-2022’ in recognition of his outstanding contribution in the field of Science and Technology. The award was announced recently by the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment.
The award carries a cash award of Rs. 50,000, Chief Minister’s Gold Medal, research grant upto Rs. 50 Lakhs and travel support for a visit abroad for presenting the research work at a conference.
Dr. Noel is the eldest son of Mr Jacob Kaleekkal Chacko and Mrs Jessy Rachel Jacob of Kaleekkal Bethel House, Venmony, Chengannur.
He holds a Chemical Engineering undergraduate degree from the National Institute of Technology Karnataka, India. He obtained his postgraduate degree (Chemical Engineering) and PhD (Technology) from AC Tech. Anna University, Chennai, India.
He leads the Membrane Separation Group (MemSepGrp) which focuses on the development of nano-enabled polymeric membranes for various applications. He is also the recipient of the prestigious Young Engineer Award -2022 (Chemical Engineering) from the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), India.
Dr. Noel has completed 2 extramural funded (MHRD-SPARC, SERB SRG) research projects and is currently implementing another DST funded project. He has published more than 40 research articles in peer-reviewed journals, authored 4 book-chapters, edited two books (Elsevier, CRC Press) and has been granted 2 patents.
His initial focus was on the development and evaluation of membranes for hemodialysis applications. He has also worked on the pressure-driven membrane process for water treatment including removal of heavy metals, humic substances, separation of oil-water emulsion, etc. He has collaborated on a project involving the development and
characterization of proton exchange membranes for direct-methanol fuel cells. His research group is working on government-funded projects for developing novel forward osmosis membranes as well as superhydrophobic membranes for Membrane Distillation for the recovery and reuse of wastewater and/or seawater.
The Young Scientist Award-2022 was awarded to Dr. Noel for his most recent research focused on low-pressure, novel membrane technologies that aim to address the concerns of diminishing water and energy resources.
The award will be presented by the Hon. Chief Minister of Kerala Sri. Pinarayi Vijayan on 12th February 2023 during the inaugural session of the Kerala State Science Congress at Mar Baselios Christian College of Engineering, Kuttikkanam, Peermedu.
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