LAB MEMBERS
Lab Director: Dr. Srijana (Sri) Baral
Dr. Sri Baral (She/Her) is an assistant professor of economics of ecological risk and resilience in the Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship at Colorado State University. She completed her PhD from the University of Georgia.
Her research program at CSU focuses on the financial effects of climate-induced events such as wildfire, effectiveness of forest incentive programs, risk and return of forest and farmland investments, valuation of ecosystem services, and the performance of forest products industry in the state of Colorado. Dr. Baral likes to paint, bake, and hike and enjoys exploring coffee shops.
Email: Srijana.Baral@colostate.edu
Graduate Students
Sungeun Cho (She/Her) joined our lab as a Ph.D. student in Fall 2023. She earned her Master’s degree from Seoul National University in South Korea. She also worked at the Korea Rural Economic Institute on several research projects related to forest direct payment systems, forest decentralization, and non-timber forest products in Korea. Her main focus of Ph.D. research is the forest carbon market and the provision of ecosystem services in rangeland ecosystems. Outside of work and school, she enjoys painting, traveling, and snorkeling.
Email: sungeun.cho@colostate.edu
Dhruba Burlakoti (He/His) joined our lab as a Ph.D. student in the Fall 2023. He completed his undergraduate degree in Forestry from Agriculture and Forestry University Nepal. He then worked as a consulting forester for nearly a year before getting his MS degree in Forest Economics from Purdue. He did his Master’s thesis on economic impact analyses of consumptive forest resources in Indiana. For his Ph.D. thesis, he is working on incentive programs for private forest landowners in the US. Besides academia, he likes to spend time outdoors, hiking, and swimming.
Kritagya Gyawali (He/His) joined our lab as an MS student in January 2023. He completed his undergraduate degree in Forestry from Tribhuvan University in Nepal. After finishing his undergraduate degree, he became involved in works related to community forests, forest-based enterprises, forest mapping, and local forest policies. For his master's thesis, Kritagya is studying the impact of the forest products market on forest fuel treatment activities in Colorado. Besides academics, he is fond of traveling, literature, writing, and exploring cuisines and arts around the world.
Email: kritagya.gyawali@colostate.edu
Alisha Sharma (She/Her) joined our lab as an MS student in January 2023. She completed her undergraduate degree in Forestry from Tribhuvan University in Nepal. For her master's thesis, Alisha is examining federal and state tax incentives for conservation easements in the US. She likes hiking, traveling, and cooking.
Email: alisha.sharma@colostate.edu
