Professor Himanshu Mishra is a scientist-entrepreneur at KAUST working at the intersection of interfacial science and sustainability. He leads a research program focused on solving urgent food–water challenges in arid regions. His group has developed award-winning technologies — CarboSoil™ and SandX™ — that convert organic waste into powerful soil amendments to boost nutrient retention, slash irrigation losses, and sequester carbon in degraded soils. With support from KAUST, Aramco, King Salman Park, NEOM, and others, these innovations are being deployed at scale across Saudi Arabia. In 2023, he co-founded Terraxy LLC to advance desert rehabilitation and circular economy goals across giga-projects. Professor Mishra has secured over USD $7M in competitive research funding, authored 50+ peer-reviewed papers, and mentored a new generation of innovators. His work has been recognized globally — at the World Economic Forum, Geneva Inventions, Prototypes for Humanity, COP16, and by CNN — as a model of how translational science can address climate resilience and food–water security in drylands. 

Professor Mishra works closely with national stakeholders to translate science into policy and practice, including advising the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture on biochar standards and leading large-scale greening efforts with NEOM and the National Center for Vegetation Cover. His work has been featured at high-level forums such as the Future Minerals Forum and the Saudi Green Initiative, reflecting his commitment to advancing climate resilience and circular economy goals through science-driven innovation. 

Professor Mishra’s research interests can be summarized by the following list: 

• Biochar, aquatic chemistry, soil physics & chemistry, biomimetics in wetting & capillarity, microdroplet chemistry, heat and mass transfer, and global carbon cycle; 

• Precision tech for sustainable desert rehabilitation urban greening, food production, carbon sequestration, and ecosystem services; 

• Soil-specific Engineered Biochar from poultry manure, date palm leaves, etc. Pyrolysis and pre- & post-treatment, field trials, and piloting (TRL1-9); 

• Biochar-based slow-release fertilizers to reduce nutrient leaching and volatilization; 

• SandX™ mulch for enhanced water-use efficiency; and 

• Smart irrigation solutions for arid regions.