Jury for 2023-24 Challenge
Division Jury
The submissions by finalists of the 2024-25 challenge were be reviewed by these experts. They have many years of experience in the buildings sector. The jury panels had a combination of people with expertise in the areas of building design-construction, building science and sustainability, manufacturing and scaling up, and product design.
Community Resilience Shelter
Isaac Emmanuel
Professor of Practice
With over 30 years in the polymer industry at Bayer MaterialScience/Covestro, Isaac Emmanuel has excelled in sales, marketing, innovation, and sustainability. He pioneered new materials and innovations in affordable housing, food security, and agro-waste construction applications. Isaac served on the Executive Committee of the Indian Polyurethane Association, where he remains active in the Technical Committee. He also contributes to the India Insulation Forum, Spray Foam Alliance of India, and edits PU Today magazine. Previously leading Covestro India’s Inclusive Business division, Isaac now serves as Professor of Practice at Somaiya Vidyavihar University’s Polymer Science Department while consulting for sustainable tech startups. He holds a Masters in Polymer Chemistry and resides in Navi Mumbai.
Shailee Goswami
Tech Lead – Building Science R&D l Saint-Gobain Research India
Shailee is an Architect and holds a master’s degree in building energy performance (BEP) from CEPT University, Ahmedabad. With over a decade of experience in building science and sustainable architecture, she has worked with multiple projects related to energy efficiency, indoor comfort assessment, green building certifications and integrated design.
She is currently leading the building science team at Saint-Gobain Research India and is involved in simulations and measurements-based assessment of built environment in Hot & Humid climates.
Peeyush Sekhsaria
Independent Natural Resources & Disaster Risk Management Consultant
Peeyush Sekhsaria is an Architect and Geographer by training. His work in the last 15 years has been in the areas of Disaster Risk and Natural Resources Management, including a 6-year stint with a multilateral agency. He has worked extensively on Multi-purpose Cyclone and Flood Shelters, post-disaster housing reconstruction, and nature-based solutions for disaster risk mitigation. He works as an independent consultant based out of Delhi
Construction Worker Housing
Deepa Parekh
Net-Zero Education Expert, Principal – Sustainability, Kapadia Associates
Deepa is an architect and building science professional engaged with practice and teaching over 16 years. In her role as Principal – Sustainability at Kapadia Associates, Deepa leads the firm’s sustainability strategy, including integrating evidence-based design into workflow, advocating clients to set high performance targets, and implementing capacity building programs for the team. As a Net-Zero Education Expert, Deepa conducts training programs on building science concepts, simulation skills and sustainability strategies. She has conducted 78+ professional training programmes attended by over 5500 learners. Deepa serves as a faculty member at CEPT University and is an ECBC Master Trainer.
Monish Siripurapu
CEO and Founder, Ant Studio
Monish Siripurapu is an alumnus of SPA Delhi and IAAC, Spain and the founder and Principal Architect of Ant Studio. His studio has received international recognition for their work on Nature inspired Biophilic Passive Cooling Building Envelopes. Their nature based low-carbon air-cooling solution, called the ‘CoolAnt’, won the Asia Pacific Low Carbon Footprint Challenge and was funded by UNEP. Monish is a TEDx speaker and has also presented his work at the TMK knowledge forum part of G20 summit at Bali, Science Museum London, Google’s Anthropocene, UCL Bartlett, CEDIM Mexico, IAAC Barcelona, and Construction symposium Ekaterinburg in Russia. He was a keynote speaker at the World Environment Day New Delhi, 2018. Monish was a visiting faculty at SPA, Delhi and has also lectured and exhibited his works in various IIT’s and IIM’s in the country. His works have also been published in the History Channel, CNN, World Economic Forum, Architectural Digest, Inhabitat, and ArchDaily.
Nilesh Sonawane
India Commercial Leader, Owens Corning
Nilesh has been working with Owens Corning for the last ~14 years handling the insulation business for the company. He has represented the organisation at various government and industry forums like IGBC, NCCD, CII-Cold Chain Task Force, India Insulation Forum, Thermal Insulation Committee of BIS, and ISHRAE/ASHRAE. His passion for leading techno-commercial assignments has resulted in many firsts in India including, the XPS foam-based insulation, and large-scale commercialisation of external wall insulation system. Nilesh has held various leadership positions, VP – Marketing with a composite material start-up and Product Manager-Insulation products with Styrenics major. Nilesh, is an alum of IIM–Ahmedabad, NMIMS-Mumbai, and MIT-Pune.
Educational Building
Elise Roussel
Bioclimatic Design Engineer, Transsolar
Elise joined Transsolar in 2018, working on the seamless integration of climate-responsive strategies in projects worldwide. As an expert in CFD flow simulation, she focuses on ventilation of indoor spaces as well as wind comfort of outdoor urban spaces. She has taught at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart in Stuttgart and was invited as guest lecturer at Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Innsbruck.
Samit Bhowmick
Co-founder, Veratatva
Samit is co-founder at VeraTatva, a collaborative consulting firm that specializes in high performance, sustainable building designs. He is also co-founder at Tarsa Analytics, a firm that focusses on IT applications and data analytics in the building sector. Samit is a Mechanical Engineer with over 25 years of experience in design and project management of MEP projects for a variety of applications like power plants, ships, commercial buildings and cleanrooms. Samit is passionate about performance based and environmentally design. He is also passionate about the use of technology in building design and operation.
Saket Sarraf
Prinsipal, ps Collective
Dr Saket Sarraf is the Founder and Principal at ps Collective, a platform advancing sustainable development through advocacy, research, policy analysis, and consultancy. Committed to a just energy transition, he integrates stakeholder engagement, advanced modelling, and policy research to support informed decision-making. His work spans energy systems, buildings, transportation, and cities, focusing on equitable and efficient decarbonization strategies.
Multi-Family Housing
Aalok Deshmukh
Co-Founder & MD, SuperHumanRace Pvt. Ltd.
Aalok is the Co-Founder and MD at SuperHumanRace Pvt. Ltd., a start-up at the intersection of technology and sustainability. Aalok has over 20 years’ experience in energy and sustainability strategy, implementation, consulting, and research in the corporate, government and non-profit sectors. Aalok is recognised as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Fellow. Previously, Aalok was at Schneider Electric India as Director – Sustainability & Influence Strategy. He has also headed the USAID-funded bilateral ECO-III Project. Earlier, Aalok has worked as Senior Consultant, Built Environment at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), USA.
Shaon Sengupta
Director & Head – North, Edifice Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
An Edifician since 2000, Shaon Sikta Sengupta has been leading the zonal operations of North and East India for the firm, integrating client briefs across diverse domains with research, innovation, and design thinking. With a larger commitment to ensure the enhancement of client relationships, collaborations and partnerships, Shaon’s multi-disciplinary expertise of integrating design and management has guided the growth of Edifice towards its larger vision of being client-focused. Shaping architecture that is timeless and design which is practical – and having lived and worked out of all the four major metro cities of India – Shaon has a diverse Portfolio of successful projects and extremely satisfied clients. Shaon leverages her diversity of experience to ensure efficacious project delivery as initially envisaged. An architect by profession – with over 2 decades of experience across many widely acclaimed, award-winning projects – Shaon writes frequently, is a regular speaker at trade events, and represents the Edifice ethos, pan- India. Her forte being designing sustainable buildings and interiors, she has participated in various knowledge sharing sessions on Sustainability, Green Architecture and effective implementation of net zero energy project.
Yash Sanghvi
Head of IoT practice at Atomberg Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Yash is the Head of Internet of Things (IoT) at Atomberg. He has 7 years of experience in IoT, spanning agri-IoT, industrial IoT and consumer IoT. He did his mechanical engineering from IIT Bombay, but his work spans diverse engineering domains, from writing the firmware for a student satellite launched by ISRO, to developing a custom secure cloud infrastructure catering to lakhs of IoT devices, to building highly rated consumer apps, to ideating and realising consumer products that change the way a category is perceived and evaluated. Currently focused on making home appliances smarter and living spaces more efficient, he strongly believes that technology can play a seminal role in making sustainable living commonplace.
Office Building
Sandeep Doddaballapur
Associate Director, Environmental Design Solutions
Sandeep Doddaballapur is an Associate Director at Environmental Design Solutions, with over 15 years of experience in building performance, sustainability, and architectural design. Trained as an architect and urban designer, he holds dual master’s degrees from Arizona State University in Built Environment and Urban Design. His career spans impactful roles in the U.S. and India, driving energy efficiency, climate-responsive architecture, and integrated design solutions. Passionate about education and research, Sandeep blends technical expertise with a holistic sustainability vision, contributing to policy, practice, and pedagogy in the built environment.
Sangita Jhangiani
Founder, Enova
Sangita Jhangiani is the founder and Principal of an engineering consulting firm Enova. Her team at Enova has designed MEP services for projects of varied applications, which include offices, hospital, residences, commercial buildings to name a few. Sangita has been an active member of ISHRAE and has served in the society in many roles. Articles authored by her have been published in the ISHRAE Journal. Sangita is the President elect of ASHRAE Mumbai chapter. Sangita is also an IGBC AP.
Dhiraj Wadhwa
Director, Commercial & Overseas Business, Carrier Corporation
At Carrier, Dhiraj has been managing and leading HVAC Businesses for the India region. He is currently responsible for the Commercial Business in the India region and the Overseas Business. He simultaneously engages with nodal agencies to advocate for Energy Efficient Built environments. A Mechanical Engineer with a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management, Dhiraj has over two decades of experience in the HVAC segment. His passion for energy efficiency encourages him to share the same knowledge with the HVAC fraternity for its application at suitable platforms.
Residential Cooling Retrofit
Kshitij Sawant
Solution Consultant – Sahaj Software
Kshitij is a Solution Consultant with a focus on Product Innovation at Sahaj. His expertise lies at the crossroads of consumer research, design, product development, and brand strategy, providing invaluable insights to fuel business growth. A passionate innovation strategist and a systems thinker, he crafts frameworks that facilitate the transformation of ideas into human-centric products that help propel innovation agendas for organisations. With a 19-year career spanning architecture and design, Kshitij holds a Master’s degree in Design Methods from the Institute of Design, Chicago, a Master in Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, and a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Sir J.J. School of Architecture, Mumbai.
Yash Shukla
Principal Researcher & Centre Head, Centre for Advanced Research in Building Science and Energy CRDF, CEPT University
Yash is the Center Head and Principal Researcher at CARBSE and brings over twenty years of expertise in high-performance buildings. He has spearheaded groundbreaking research projects including low-energy cooling and ventilation systems in Indian residences, evaluation of innovative cooling technologies, and benchmarking of Indian buildings. He is affiliated with the Master of Technology in Building Energy Performance (MBEP) program at CEPT University, where he teaches courses and supervises capstone projects. His current research focuses on simulation model calibration, smart grids, low-energy cooling, performance characterisation of novel envelope and air conditioning systems, and next-generation control algorithm development.
Himansha Singh
Co-founder, Craste
Dr Himansha Singh is a scientist, entrepreneur, and sustainability advocate dedicated to transforming the materials industry through innovation. Her work significantly contributes to reducing carbon emissions and deforestation in this high-emission, timber-dependent sector. A former BBSRC Research Fellow (University of Cambridge, UK) and CV Raman Fellow (IISc, India), she earned her PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Cambridge on a fully funded CISS scholarship. Her research excellence was recognized with the CSAR Award for outstanding applied research at Cambridge.
Driven by a passion for sustainability, she co-founded Craste, a pioneering company that converts agricultural waste into India’s first NAF-grade (No Added Formaldehyde) engineered boards, matching HDHMR quality while being completely toxic fumes free. Craste’s breakthrough technology not only addresses stubble burning, deforestation and pollution but also provides a cost-competitive, eco-friendly and quality alternative to timber-based products. The company has been widely recognised, winning multiple national and international awards for its innovation in greener, safer and tougher materials for construction and furniture.
With a strong background in translational research, material innovation, and business development, Himansha focuses on applying scientific advancements to create practical, sustainable solutions that drive meaningful environmental and social impact.
Grand Jury
Details coming soon!
