Associate Professor
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Office: 213.1 Othmer Hall, UNL City Campus
Phone: (402)472-7531
Email: rsaha2@unl.edu
Academic Degrees
- Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University
- M.S., Chemical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University
- B.S., Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
News
Interesting research shows impressive prospect for higher ethanol blend in conventional vehicles!
Research led by us showed that non-flex-fuel vehicles could burn E-30 ethanol blends and get performance comparable to blends that use less of the corn-based fuel, such as E-10 or E-15. Multiple news outlets have featured the story, including EthanolProducer magazine, SDPB radio, KLKN TV, and Journal Star.
Curriculum Vitae (CV):
Areas of Research and Professional Interest
- Reconstruction and analysis of genome-scale and community models
- Systems-level analysis of ‘omics’ data
- Genetic redesign of non model organisms for biotechnological purposes
- Development of genetic toolkit and engineering metabolic pathways
- Redesign photosynthetic apparatus and carbon fixing mechanism
Research Profiles:
In the News: Powered by the
Dec 21, 2021: Plant-based component could boost bacterial production of biodegradable plasticOct 11, 2021: Saha studying cellular metabolism’s role in fight against diseasesMar 09, 2021: Study shows E-30 use has no negative effect on vehicle performanceOct 05, 2020: Saha earns Early Career Award from his alma materMay 04, 2020: NSF CAREER Award for Rajib SahaOct 25, 2018: Rajib Saha, UNL team working to understand plant defenses, help create more vigorous crops
Courses Taught
- CHME 312 – Chemical Engineering Computation
- CHME 496/896 – Advance Topics in Chemical Engineering Computation
- CHME 462/862 – Automatic Process Control
About Rajib Saha
Dr. Rajib Saha is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical & Bimolecular Engineering at UNL. Prior to his appointment at UNL, he worked as a post-doctoral research associate in the Himadri Pakrasi Lab in Biology department at Washington University in St. Louis. He graduated with his PhD and MS in Chemical Engineering from the Costas Maranas Lab at The Pennsylvania State University in 2014 and 2011, respectively. He obtained his Bachelor in Chemical Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology with the top position in his graduating class.
Throughout his multidisciplinary graduate research career, he has developed metabolic network models for photosynthetic organisms and subsequently utilized those for studying their physiology and also for metabolic engineering applications. His recent postdoctoral research includes study of light/dark behavior and development of efficient and tunable gene expression control system of a model cyanobacterial strain. His research interests include reconstruction and analysis of genome-scale and community models, systems-level analysis of ‘omics’ data, development of genetic toolkit and engineering metabolic pathways, and redesign photosynthetic apparatus and carbon fixing mechanism.
His lab, the Systems and Synthetic Biology Laboratory (SSBio) conducts research aimed at discovey and redesign of non-model microbes, plants and microbial consortia. We focus on both computational and experimental techniques to overcome the challenges in utilizing these organisms as platforms for producing bio-renewables or answering biological questions regarding metabolism, health and environment.
Experience
2016 – Assistant Professor
Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2014 – 2016 Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis
Advisor: Dr. Himadri B. Pakrasi
2009-2014 Graduate Research Assistant
Department of Chemical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University
Advisor: Dr. Costas Maranas
2005-2009 Research Scholar
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore
Honors and Awards
- NIH R35 MIRA Award, 2021
- Early Career Alumni Award, The Pennsylvania State University, 2020
- CAREER Award, National Science Foundation, USA, 2020
Funding
- NIH R35 MIRA Award
- NSF Molecular and Cellular Bioscience (MCB) Award
- NSF Career Award
- Nebraska Collaboration Initiative grants
- Nebraska Corn Board award
- Nebraska Ethanol Board award
- Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research (NCESR) Energy Research grant
- Center for Root & Rhizobiome Innovation (CRRI) grant