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CBE Seminar: “Water–Hydrophobe Interfaces: From Debunking Myths to Boosting Global Food–Water–Climate Resilience” (Himanshu Mishra, KAUST)
September 3, 2025 at 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Abstract:
First, I will outline our work on overcoming barriers to desert rehabilitation for urban greening, landscaping, and regional food security. In arid regions, freshwater is scarce, sandy soils lose water and fertilizers rapidly, which stifles plant growth. Our team has developed two complementary solutions: (i) Superhydrophobic Sand (SHS)1 — a plastic-free, bio-inspired mulch that cuts evaporative water loss from topsoil by ~80%; (ii) CarboSoil2 — an engineered biochar that greatly enhances nutrient and water retention in sandy soils. I will share our translational journey from materials invention and characterization to multi-year field trials with food crops and native plants in collaboration with industry partners. Results show SHS and CarboSoil can dramatically improve irrigation and fertilizer-use efficiency in hot, dry, sandy environments. Terraxy LLC, the startup I co-founded, is now scaling Carbosoil production to 6,000 tons/year for regional sustainability projects (video link).
Next, I will discuss our investigation into controversial claims that hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) forms spontaneously at the air–water interface in microdroplets3-5 — a phenomenon that would upend fundamental physical chemistry and impact fields from cloud chemistry to green synthesis. We tested H₂O₂ formation in sprayed and condensed microdroplets under varied flow rates, air compositions, pH, and salt content. Our findings show that the effect is not due to the air–water interface or microdroplet geometry6. Instead, H₂O₂ originates from the reduction of dissolved oxygen at the solid–water interface7. Within a 50 nM detection limit, no H₂O₂ was detected in oxygen-free conditions (more here).
References
- A. Gallo, K. Odokonyero, M. A. A. Mousa, J. Reihmer, S. Al-Mashharawi, R. Marasco, E. Manalastas, M. J. L. Morton, D. Daffonchio, M. F. McCabe, M. Tester and H. Mishra, ACS Agricultural Science & Technology, 2022, 2, 276-288.
- K. Odokonyero, B. Vernooij, B. Albar, L. O. Exposito, A. Alsamdani, A. A. G. Haider, N. V. H. Musskopf, N. Kharbatia, A. Gallo and H. Mishra, Frontiers in Plant Science, 2024, Volume 15 – 2024.
- M. A. Mehrgardi, M. Mofidfar and R. N. Zare, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2022, 144, 7606-7609.
- J. K. Lee, K. L. Walker, H. S. Han, J. Kang, F. B. Prinz, R. M. Waymouth, H. G. Nam and R. N. Zare, P Natl Acad Sci USA, 2019, 116, 19294-19298.
- R. A. LaCour, J. P. Heindel, R. Zhao and T. Head-Gordon, J Am Chem Soc, 2025, 147, 6299-6317.
- N. H. Musskopf, A. Gallo, P. Zhang, J. Petry and H. Mishra, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2021, 12, 11422-11429.
- M. A. Eatoo and H. Mishra, Chem Sci, 2024, 15, 3093-3103.
Himanshu Mishra
Associate Professor
Professor Himanshu Mishra is a scientist-entrepreneur at KAUST working to transform deserts into permanently fertile landscapes, advancing global food, water, and climate security. He leads the development of CarboSoil™, a #SaudiMade soil amendment derived from organic waste that enhances nutrient and water-use efficiency in arid soils while sequestering carbon for centuries—catalyzing a circular carbon economy.
Mishra earned his PhD in Applied Physics & Materials Science from Caltech (2013), followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at UC Santa Barbara as an Elings Prize Fellow with the late Prof. Jacob Israelachvili. He joined KAUST in 2014 as an Assistant Professor and is now Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering and Associate Faculty at the Sustainable Food Security Center.
Over the past decade, his team has raised $7M+ in competitive research funding, published over 50 peer-reviewed papers, and mentored a new generation of environmental innovators. CarboSoil™, now at Technology Readiness Level 8, is being scaled through his startup Terraxy LLC in partnership with KAUST, Aramco, King Salman Park, and Neom. His work has been spotlighted by CNN, the World Economic Forum, COP-16, and the American Chemical Society.