I am a paleoclimatologist and I study how climate impacts human societies on historical and contemporary periods

I seek to understand how human societies respond and recover from climate shifts. I apply an interdisciplinary approach, whereby I statistically compare information regarding climate impacts extracted from archives of human societies with high-resolution records of regional climate and environment using geochemical measurements (especially isotope measurements in natural archives, such as lacustrine sediment cores and corals) to assess the role of climate fluctuations in socioeconomic outcomes.

Furthermore, I have co-lead the development of a new paradigm, 'social geosciences', which is based on the tenets of community-engaged scholarship, to increase community participation in climate sciences research. The goal of social geosciences is to improve our understanding of how communities - people who interact with the natural world and therefore, bring with them their own practices, beliefs, and traditions - experience different components of earth systems (especially climate and environment). This knowledge, in our collective opinion, is key to capturing the challenges faced by communities in a rapidly changing and interwoven natural and social space.

I apply the social geosciences model to study climate impacts in drought prone regions of peninsular region. For details regarding my ongoing research in semi-arid regions of peninsular India, please visit the project website.

I currently hold a research faculty appointment at the University of Colorado, Boulder and an adjunct faculty member at the department of Social studies and humanities at the Indraprastha Institution of Information Technology (IIIT), New Delhi (since 2020).

I have seven years of experience teaching and conducting research with undergraduate students in natural and affiliated disciplines seeking to engage with natural systems in the wake of the current climate crises. I specialize in developing and teaching 'course based undergraduate education (CURE), a novel pedagogical method that allows undergraduate students to participate in research education (URE) in classroom settings. For more information on the CURE model of teaching, please visit the website that I have co-developed with my colleague, Pamela Harvey and former student, Perri Longley. I also have experience in successful creation of undergraduate and professional certificate programs (e.g. Global Environmental Affairs at the University of Colorado at climate and society at the North Carolina State University)

I am a member of the National Association of science writers (NASW) with twelve years of experience as a science writer/communicator. I participate in wide range of educational and non-governmental outreach efforts focused on climate communication, climate sciences curriculum, climate literacy and climate adaptation.

I enjoy cooking and creating recipes. Here is a Link to my food blog.

I also spend time learning new languages (currently struggling with Spanish and Marathi), playing the keyboard, taking photographs and writing short stories.

EDUCATION

Ph.D., Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University (2012)

M.Sc., Applied Geosciences, Indian Institute of Technology (I.I.T), Kharagpur (2005)

B.Sc., Geology, Presidency College, Calcutta University (2003)

RESEARCH TRAINING

Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, Los Angeles (2014-15)