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Himanshu Mishra

Associate Professor, Environmental Science and Engineering

Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division 
Center membership :
Water Desalination and Reuse

himanshu.mishra@kaust.edu.sa
Interfacial Lab


Affiliations

Education Profile

  • Elings Prize Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California Santa Barbara, 2013-2014
  • Ph.D., California Institute of Technology (Caltech), 2013
  • M.S., Purdue University, 2007
  • B.E., Punjab Engineering College, 2005

Research Interests

Himanshu Mishra specializes in probing aqueous interfaces. His team has addressed several long-standing transdisciplinary problems/controversies, including: (i) quantifying droplet detachment force; (ii) understanding electrification at water-hydrophobe interfaces; and (iii) investigating spontaneous H2O2 formation in water microdroplets. In addition to these fundamental contributions, Mishra’s team has developed CarboSoil™ and SandX™ technologies for sustainable desert greening, soil carbon sequestration, and food production. His start-up Terraxy LLC is scaling up CarboSoil production to unleash a circular carbon economy in KSA, the Middle East and beyond. Mishra’s translational research and start-up initiatives have received recognition from Geneva Inventions and the World Economic Forum and featured on CNN. His specific research interests include: - Nature-inspired solutions for sustainable desert landscaping, rehabilitation, and agriculture. - Engineered Biochar (CarboSoil) from organic waste streams: pre-treatment, pyrolysis, post-treatment, materials characterization, field trials, and piloting (TRL9). - CarboSoil-based slow-release fertilizers to reduce leaching and N-volatilization. - SandX mulch for enhanced water-use efficiency: mechanisms, field trials, & piloting. - Smart irrigation monitoring & control in off-the-grid locations. - Interfacial phenomena: microdroplet chemistry, wetting & capillarity, soil physics

Selected Publications

  • Odokonyero, K.,Vernooij, B., Albar, B., Exposito, L., Alsamdani, A., Haider, A., Musskopf, N., Kharbatia, N., Gallo, A., Mishra, H.*, Superhydrophobic Sand Mulch and Date Palm Biochar Boost Growth of Moringa oleifera in Sandy Soils via Enhanced Irrigation and Nutrient Use Efficiency, Frontiers in Plant Science-Plant Abiotic Stress, 2024, Volume 15, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1434462
  • Hong, P.*, Mishra, H., Daffonchio, D., McCabe, M. F., “Greening initiatives in the Middle East can leverage urban infrastructure to enhance sustainable water use”, Nature Water, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00171-9
  • Gallo Jr., Musskopf, N. H., Liu, X., Zhang, Z., Petry, J., Zhang, P., Thoroddsen, S., Im, H., Mishra, H.*, “On the Formation of Hydrogen Peroxide in Water Microdroplets”, Chemical Science, 2022, 13, 2574–2583 (Journal Cover)
  • Eatoo, M., Wehbe, N., Kharbatia, N., Guo, Xianrong, Mishra, H.*, “Why Some Metal Ions Spontaneously Form Nanoparticles in Water Microdroplets? Disentangling the Contributions of the Air-Water Interface and Bulk Redox Chemistry”, Chemical Science 2024, DOI: 10.1039/d4sc03217a (Journal Cover)
  • Eatoo, M., Mishra, H.*, “Busting the Myth of Spontaneous Formation of H2O2 at the Air–Water Interface: Contributions of the Liquid–Solid Interface and Dissolved Oxygen Exposed”, Chemical Science 2024, 15, 3093-3103 (Journal Cover)
  • Sadullah, M., Arunachalam, S., Mishra, H.* “Predicting Droplet Detachment Force: Young-Dupré Model Fails, Young-Laplace Model Prevails”, Nature Communications Physics 2024, 7, Article number: 89
  • Arunachalam, S., Sadullah, M., Mishra, H.*, “Insect-Inspired Breathing Interfaces: Investigating Robustness of Coating-Free Gas Entrapping Microtextured Surfaces Under Pressure Cycles”, Nature Communications Engineering, 2024, 3, Article number: 84
  • Gallo Jr., A., Odokonyero, Mousa, M. A., A., Reihmer, J., Morton, M. J. L., Al-Mashharawi, S., R. Marasco, Daffonchio, D., McCabe, M. F., Tester, M., Mishra, H*, “Nature-Inspired Superhydrophobic Sand Mulches Increase Agricultural Productivity and Water-Use Efficiency in Arid Regions” ACS Agricultural Science & Technology, 2022, 2, 2, 276–288, DOI:10.1021/acsagscitech.1c00148 (Journal Cover)
  • Odokonyero, K., Gallo Jr., A., Mishra, H*, “Effects of Superhydrophobic Sand Mulching on Evapotranspiration and Phenotypic Responses in Tomato (Solanium lycopersicum) Plants Under Normal and Reduced Irrigation”, Plant-Environment Interactions, 2022, Vol. 3, Issue 2, 74–88 (DOI: 10.1002/pei3.10074) (Journal Cover)