Civil Engineering

Prathap Parameswaran | Graduate Program Director and Associate Professor

Photo of Prathap ParameswaranFornelli Engineering Professorship

Thomas and Connie Paulson Civil Engineering Outstanding Faculty Member

Ph.D. - 2010, Arizona State University
Environmental Engineering
M.S. - 2005, Illinois Institute of Technology
Environmental Engineering
B.Tech. - 2003, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, India
Chemical Engineering

Contact information

2123 Fiedler Hall
prathapp@k-state.edu
Research website

Professional experience

Prathap Parameswaran received a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Coimbatore Institute of Technology in 2003. In 2004, he came to the United States to pursue a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, after which he obtained a doctorate in environmental engineering in May 2010 from Arizona State University. From 2010 to 2012, he worked as a post-doctoral research associate at the Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology after which he was promoted to associate research scientist for the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University. He also served as a scientific mentor for the startup company ARBSource, LLC in Tempe, AZ.

Research

Parameswaran’s research interests pertain to all aspects of biological wastewater treatment and sustainable resource recovery from wastes using novel environmental biotechnology platforms. He is an international expert in the implementation and long term operation of Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors (AnMBRs) and currently operates a pilot scale system at K-State’s north agronomy farm to treat swine lagoon wastewater. His research interests also include: anaerobic digestion, pretreatment technologies for bioprocessing of wastes and biomass, microbial electrochemical cells for valuable products generation (electric power, hydrogen gas and advanced oxidation products such as hydrogen peroxide), downstream resource capture from photosynthetic microalgae through novel environmental biotechnology for a sustainable and green biorefinery.

Academic highlights

Parameswaran has authored and/or co-authored one text book chapter, 61 journal papers and over 75 conference papers, which, as of 2020, have resulted in over 4,500 citations and a Scopus H-index of 26. Parameswaran holds two patents on microbial electrochemical cells and membrane bioreactor systems, which he co-invented with his collaborators. He has received several academic honors including the Young Investigator award from the American Society of Microbiology in 2012; Outstanding Assistant Professor Award from K-State’s College of Engineering, and K-State Chi Epsilon’s outstanding undergraduate teaching award. He is an active reviewer for peer-reviewed journals such as Bioresource Technology, Environmental Science and Technology, Water Research, etc. He was on the Scientific and Organizing committee for the fifth international meeting of the International Society for Microbial Electrochemistry and Technology (ISMET). He also serves on the awards sub-committee for the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP).

Recent faculty publications
  • Lusk, B.G., Colin, A., Parameswaran, P., Rittmann, B.E., Torres, C.I. 2018. Simultaneous fermentation of
    cellulose and current production with an enriched mixed culture of thermophilic bacteria in a microbial
    electrolysis cell. Microbial Biotechnology 11(1): 63 – 73.
  • Hobbs, S.R., Landis, A.E., Rittmann, B.E., Young, M.N., Parameswaran, P. 2018. Enhancing anaerobic
    digestion of food waste through biochemical methane potential assays at different substrate: inoculum
    ratios. Waste Management 71: 612-617.