Debalina Sengupta, PhD
Coastal Resilience Program Director
Texas A&M University
Dr. Debalina Sengupta is an experienced professional working in sustainability and resilience for over 18 years. She is trained as a Chemical Engineer (Bachelors from Jadavpur University and Doctorate from Louisiana State University) with focus on process systems engineering. She has skills in process design, integration, intensification, optimization, and life cycle assessment. She has worked in academic and governmental settings and held strong collaborations with the private sector. She has expertise in designing problem statements and developing methodologies for solutions in the areas of sustainable manufacturing (discrete and continuous), circular economy, food, energy water nexus, energy transition, and has worked on national priority areas such as sustainable supply chain design of biofuels (with US Environmental Protection Agency), natural gas (with RAPID Manufacturing USA Institute), consumer products (Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between EPA and Procter and Gamble), waste valorization, and decision-making in sustainability and resilience using metrics and indicators.
Dr. Sengupta is currently appointed as the Coastal Resilience Program Director for Texas Sea Grant at Texas A&M University (A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Program) and has courtesy appointments as a fellow at the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy at the Bush School of Government and Social Service and as a Graduate Faculty at the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering. Previously, she has held the position of Associate Director of the TEES Gas and Fuels Research Center; Water, Energy and Food Nexus Coordinator at Texas A&M Energy Institute; and Lecturer at the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering. Her roles included setup of the TEES Gas and Fuels Research Center American operations (in partnership with Texas A&M University Qatar Campus), and implement research, education, outreach, and other representative activities of the Center. She has also maintained the Food Energy Water Nexus Initiative program for the Texas A&M Energy Institute. Her work has included developing collaborative research with researchers from Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, China, France, Greece, India, Ireland, South Africa, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, and other countries. She has also led projects that engage underrepresented communities following principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Access (DEIJA), STEM based research, extension, and education.
She has authored two books, “Chemicals from biomass: integrating bioprocesses into chemical production complexes for sustainable development” by CRC Press (2012), and “Measuring Progress towards Sustainability” by Springer (2017). Apart from this, she has several peer reviewed journal publications, book chapters, and conference proceedings. She has been an invited speaker at many national and international conferences.
Dr. Sengupta is extremely well connected through the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). She has held official positions of highest order (3 year Director and 4 year Chair terms) at AIChE’s Environmental Division and Fuels and Petrochemicals Division. In 2023, she launched the first Topical on Energy Transition with six sessions and a roundtable panel discussion at the Spring Meeting of AIChE in Houston. She has been responsible as programming chair for the AIChE Environmental Division (2011-2015) and currently serves as co-Chair of Programming for the AIChE Fuels and Petrochemicals Division. She also serves on the Managing Board for AIChE’s Institute for Sustainability, and involved with Center for Energy Initiatives within the organization. She was the inaugural recipient of the Early Career Award from AIChE Environmental Division in 2016, and Programming Award for Fuels and Petrochemicals Division in 2024.
Process Systems Engineering Approaches for Sustainability Analysis of Low-Grade Waste Heat in Industry