Priyabrata Pradhan joined MIT D-Lab as a Fulbright postdoctoral fellow in May 2022 to work with D-Lab Research Scientist Dan Sweeney, lead of the Biomass Fuels and Cookstoves research group.
Priya is an agricultural engineer who has evolved multidisciplinary interests. He works broadly in the area of bioenergy and biofuels, renewable energy systems, agricultural technology, and techno-economic analysis. At D-Lab, he is conducting research on the engineering and co-design of a reactor for producing char from agricultural residues and wastes.
Prior to MIT, Priya was a postdoctoral fellow in the mechanical engineering department at University of Alberta, Canada. He received his PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in February 2020. He holds a master's degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and a bachelor’s degree from Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, both in agricultural engineering.
He has authored several peer-reviewed publications, and presented his work at conferences held in Copenhagen, Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro, and Bangkok. A native of India, he speaks English, Hindi, and Odia. Priya follows Indian politics and plays badminton in his free time.