Researcher in Spotlight: Jayant Nirmalkar

Dr. Jayant Nirmalkar is SERB-National Postdoctoral Fellow in Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He is involved in studying the characteristics and dynamics of ambient Secondary Organic Aerosol using multipronged approaches. He is also involved in generating region specific source profiles over central India for apportioning their emission sources using receptor models. Earlier, his research was focussed on source specific carbonaceous molecules in aerosols present in the atmosphere.

Find him on Google Scholar .

In 2017, Dr. Nirmalkar was awarded the SERB Postdoctoral Fellowship (details about the fellowship). I met with him at the European Aerosol Conference 2017, and learnt more about his work. Here is a short Q and A:  

How did you decide to work on air pollution?

India is at the nethermost of the charts when we talk about goodness and cleanness of air. The foulest forms of air pollutions are often found in virtually all Indian cities. The air pollution and the resultant air quality can be attributed to emissions from transportation, industrial and domestic activities. The air quality has been, therefore, an issue of social concern in the backdrop of various developmental activities. Before the introduction of air quality regulations, the use of air pollution control technology was to satisfy the requirements of good engineering practice. At present the purpose of applying and/or developing a control technology is to meet ambient air quality standards and other source related regulations. A control technology can only be applied to a controllable source. Further, to control air pollution, source correction is better than the cure it into the atmosphere. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the India specific source characteristics and regulating factors for dynamics of atmospheric aerosol. These are main challenges in India which motivates me to bring it as a work area for research.

What is your SERB project focused on?

Characterization of Secondary Organic Aerosols (SOA) using multi-pronged Approach. SOA is formed from the atmospheric oxidation of gas-phase organic compounds leading to the formation of particle mass. SOA accounts for a significant fraction of atmospheric aerosol and a detailed knowledge of formation, properties and transformation of SOA is therefore required to assess its impact on atmospheric processes, climate change and human health. The chemical and physical processes associated with SOA formation are complex and varied, and despite considerable progress in recent years, a quantitative and predictive understanding of SOA formation does not exist and therefore represents a major research challenge in atmospheric science. These studies will provide a better insight into the sources and formation processes that influence the SOA production and temporal distribution. As far as we are aware, this will be one of the most comprehensive studies of ambient SOA at a molecular level in the suburban site of central India. Our work adds to the increasing database on the chemical characterization of SOA in the atmosphere.