Her background
I have my Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Environmental Science from the University of Calcutta, India. Learning about the intricacies with which different environmental systems work as well as all the different aspects that need to be addressed while looking at any environmental problem has really allowed me to hone my capacity to study each environmental issue with a holistic overview. It was during the final year of my Bachelor’s degree that I first learned about the increasing problem with microplastics and during my Master’s degree, I started studying microplastics in a freshwater environment for my dissertation. My interest in the pollutant has only grown since then.
I have an interest in science communication and have written quite a few articles on scientific advancements. During my Master’s degree, I have held the position of an associate editor in a scientific information dissemination platform. It was also during my Master’s that I acted as a part of an Environmental Consulting firm and worked on the District Environmental Plan for the state of Bihar, India in collaboration with the state’s pollution control board. I have also worked at the headquarters of CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, India as a Project Associate, where I carried out work in the domains of environmental policy and plastic waste in the environment, with a special focus on plasticizers.
Key facts
• I am always looking out for new things to learn.
• Microplastic is my “Roman Empire” at the moment.
• I am interested in pursuing scientific research while also examining science-policy interface.
• You will always find a book in my bag.
Summary of her thesis
Microplastics are presently being considered a major threat to the Anthropocene. It is thus essential that all the domains related to it are explored in order to understand how it will affect the future of the planet and specifically humans. While microplastics in the marine and freshwater environments are being explored to a seemingly good extent, there remains a huge gap in the amount of literature that is available with respect to microplastics in stormwater that reach different environmental domains through runoff. By replacing the traditional stormwater management paradigm, green infrastructures are presently being advanced as an innovative and complementary strategy to reduce pressure on stormwater systems along with securing cleaner runoff to water bodies. However, the benefices of green infrastructures in microplastic mitigation in comparison to the other stormwater management practices remains unknown. With the existing knowledge gap about microplastics, including microfibers and tire wear particles, in urban stormwater as well as about the efficiency of green infrastructures in aiding stormwater management systems, it is important that there be work done to bridge this gap and provide some answers (and stats) to the community. This is where my thesis comes in.
The main objectives of my thesis are to investigate and compare the amount of microplastics, anthropogenic microfibers and tire wear particles in urban stormwater from selected sites and assess the impact of different stormwater management strategies (traditional stormwater control systems vs. green infrastructure) on the pollutants of interest. I will also be comparing the impact of different green infrastructures such as stormwater retention basins and sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) on the pollutants in terms of retention capacity. I plan to achieve this by studying runoff, soil and sediments from the selected sites through co-constructed and validated protocols. Alongside the answers I aim to obtain by working on my objectives, one of the significant aspects of my thesis is that studying microplastics, microfibers and tire wear particles in the chosen pathways has the potential to be important in designing appropriate mitigation strategies at various levels of decision making.
My thesis will be undertaken in two countries, France and USA. I will be carrying out my work in Nantes, France as a part of Laboratoire Eau et Environment, Université Gustave Eiffel and I’ll be working for 6 months at the Department of Environmental Sciences, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, New jersey, USA.
What's next?
Working a lot I guess, both in the lab and in the field.
I am looking forward to visiting new places, having new experiences, and growing both as a researcher and an individual along the way.
If my work interests you and you have any questions about it or want to discuss microplastics, please feel free to email me at: sampriti.roy@univ-eiffel.fr.