Rajesh Shende is a Professor of Chemical Engineering in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. He received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, India and gained post-doctoral research experience at the National Chemistry Institute, Slovenia and University of Missouri-Columbia. In 2008, he joined as a chemical engineering faculty at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Prof. Shende is currently serving on the editorial board of four technical journals, and as a reviewer to more than 35 scientific journals and proposal panels for several federal funding agencies. He has received research grant awards for more than $10 million from the federal and state funding agencies as well as industries. He has published more than 160 scientific papers and delivered more than 145 technical presentations and invited talks. Prof. Shende has advised/co-advised 22 graduate (MS and PhD) students and many post-doc researchers. During his last sabbatical, he worked as a visiting professor with Professor William Green in the Department of Chemical Engineering at MIT. His current research is focused on biofuels/bioproducts/biopower, catalysis for hydrogen/syngas, plastic waste valorization, wet oxidation, nanomaterials, and supercapacitors.