Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Archives

Dr. Poulami Chakraborty Srivastava is a Scientific Officer at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, and an Associate Professor at Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI). She is a lead materials engineer in the advanced nuclear reactor program and has made key contributions to the development of structural materials for Gen-IV reactors, including fusion and molten salt reactors. Her pioneering work on liquid metal technology for the Indian Test Blanket Module for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor has positioned India as a frontrunner in this field.

Dr. Srivastava is a recipient of several awards including the Young Engineer Award from the Indian National Academy of Engineering in 2019, the Department of Atomic Energy Young Engineer Award, Distinction in Corrosion Science and Technology from National Association of Corrosion Engineers International, ITAS Mettler-Toledo Young Scientist Award and Best PhD thesis awards from the American Society of Metals, HBNI and NACE. She has authored over 40 international journal papers and book chapters and is also an editorial board member of Scientific Reports.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Srivastava is planning to establish the effect of in situ proton irradiation over the corrosion behavior of ferritic/martensitic steels in liquid lead-based alloys using the unique accelerator-based beamline at MIT. Her project would validate a hypothesis which predicts that radiation may slow down the corrosion in liquid metals, confirmation of which would save years of corrosion tests and obviate corrosion mitigation measures.

Dr. Ashish Kumar Srivastava is Scientific Officer-G at Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai. In addition, he is permanent faculty at Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai and visiting faculty at the Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences, University of Mumbai.

His research work is focused on developing strategies for enhancing crop resilience towards different abiotic stresses. The stimulatory potential of thiourea has been demonstrated for enhancing stress tolerance and crop productivity through lab and small-scale field experiments. Further, using the “multi-omics” based systems biology and genome-wide association mapping, Dr. Srivastava has delineated the molecular basis of thiourea-mediated action. In addition, he has worked on peaceful application of radiation and demonstrated that gamma-irradiated chitosan can boost the productivity of different crops under realistic field conditions. He is a recipient of various national and international awards/fellowships, including Young Scientist Award of National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI), Allahabad, 2018; Newton-Bhabha International Grant from DBT-BBSRC, 2018; President International Fellowship from Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, 2016; Young Scientist Medal from Indian National Science Academy (INSA), 2014; Young Scientist Award from the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), 2014 and EMBO Short-Term Fellowship, 2011. He has also edited books for reputable publishers, like Wiley and Springer.

During his Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence tenure, Dr. Srivastava is working to reduce arsenic accumulation in rice, using a combination of chemical and genetic approaches. The findings will help in developing arsenic-free rice, which is safer for human consumption.