Patrick Sekoai is a senior researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Biorefinery Industry Development (CSIR-BIDF) Facility. He has a scientific career that spans almost a decade in microbial biotechnology and bioprocessing. He received his academic training in South Africa (UKZN, Wits, and HySA at NWU) and Asia (Hong Kong SAR, China). His research primarily focuses on the upcycling of bio-wastes (agricultural, municipal, and industrial), where various market-based products are produced from these feedstocks using novel microbial-driven processes. His
research has been published in top-tier international journals, with a Google Scholar H-index of 23 and Scopus H-index of 20, and he has >1000 citations in both databases. In his R&D portfolio at the CSIR-BIDF, he is developing technologies that are instrumental in converting biomass into valuable products, and heads various SMME and industry-funded projects that fall within the circular economy.
Dr. Santosh Ramchuran currently serves as a chief researcher of bioprocessing technology development at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. He obtained a Ph.D. in chemical engineering, and an M.Sc. in food sciences and biotechnology from Lund University. He received his national diploma in biotechnology from Durban University of Technology, and his bachelor's degree of technology in biotechnology from Durban Institute of Technology. He completed his PMD in Management Development at the University of Cape Town.
Viren Chunilall is the research group Leader at the Biorefinery Industry Development Facility of the CSIR based in Durban. He is also an honorary research fellow at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and is a chemistry advisory board member at the Durban University of Technology. He has a Ph.D. in chemistry from UKZN, and has numerous publications in the biomass valorization domain. He has supervised Ph.D. and M.Sc. students in biorefinery projects, and currently supervises and mentors staff, as well as a post-doctoral fellow, and Ph.D. and M.Sc. students and interns that are based at the facility.
