Pradip Swarnakar

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Pradip Swarnakar is trained as a sociologist and specializes in conducting quantitative and qualitative research on various social and environmental issues. During his doctoral research at IIT Kanpur, he had conducted extensive fieldwork in rural West Bengal to investigate people’s beliefs and practices concerning water scarcity and contamination. After completing his PhD, he joined the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Environment and Development at Bangalore to examine the socio-psychological impact of groundwater arsenic contamination. One year later, he moved to IIT Delhi to explore why and how information and communication technologies facilitate small and medium enterprises’ economic activities in Dharavi- Asia’s largest slum at Mumbai. In 2009, he joined the ABV-Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management Gwalior and taught undergraduate and postgraduate students in technical and management streams. During his tenure at IITM Gwalior, he observed that the Indian students spend considerable time on social media sites like Facebook to connect with their friends and family. This led him to explore how Indian students create and maintain social capital by using Facebook and other social media applications between 2010-2013. He conducted semi-structured interviews with nine hundred students from three centrally funded technical institutes in India to investigate it further. In 2012, he got involved with the climate policy network research group known as COMPON, conceived and led by Prof Jeffrey Broadbent of the University of Minnesota and spans across several countries. As a lead researcher of the project’s Indian team, Dr. Swarnakar interviewed around eighty climate policy actors in India to identify their collaboration network in the various policy processes. In 2017, he was awarded the Fulbright fellowship to conduct ethnographic fieldwork in San Joaquin Valley to investigate socio-cultural dimensions of drought management in California, which saw one of the worst draughts between 2011-2016. Employing the theoretical perspective of transition management and practice theory, his research highlighted the role of culture in transitioning to the new normal of water scarcity and unpredictability. In 2019, he collaborated with a team of researchers from the University of Technology, Sydney, to interview the residents of a small town of Bulga in New South Wales, Australia, intending to examine and foreground the plight and vulnerability of the indigenous communities of Australia imperilled by mining operations. At CEPRL, he is engaged in research on environmental justice issues like air pollution, forest rights, and just energy transitions, focusing on developing novel methodological and theoretical tools and delivering policy-relevant results.

Avinash Ranjan

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Avinash Ranjan is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in Just Transition Research Centre at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. He received his PhD degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad on Political Ecology of Drinking Water Accessibility: A Comparative Study of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India. After completing his PhD, he joined K L University, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh as an Assistant Professor of Geography and then he moved to Kolkata and Joined Amity University. So far, he has published 9 research articles in reputed national and international journals and have presented his work in various seminars, conferences and in invited lectures. He has experience of conducting field survey in states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Andaman and Nicobar Island. He has also qualified NET-JRF examination in Geography and environmental sciences conducted by University Grant Commission (UGC). Avinash obtained his Postgraduate degree in Geography from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Moreover, he also holds a certificate in Geoinformatics and have practical expertise in Remote Sensing and GIS. Apart from these, he is experienced in organizing workshops, lecture series and other academic events.

Manisha Drall

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Manisha's academic and professional journey reflects a rich diversity of experiences and a passionate commitment to environmental sustainability. Her educational foundation includes a B.Sc. in Life Sciences from the University of Delhi and an M.Sc. in Natural Resource Management from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in New Delhi. In addition to her academic qualifications, she holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Law and Policy from WWF India and National Law University, New Delhi, and has also qualified for the National Eligibility Test (NET) in Environmental Science.
She has worked with various esteemed organizations, including the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) India, CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development (CESD), SunMoksha Power Private Limited, and the Just Transition Research Centre at IIT Kanpur. These professional experiences have further enriched her expertise in climate and energy policy, adding a crucial layer to her multidisciplinary knowledge base. Manisha's doctoral work is focused on Electric Mobility and Just Transition within the Indian context.

Rajshri Shukla

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Rajshri Shukla is a doctoral candidate in Sociology at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kanpur. Her broad research interests revolve around Environmental Sociology, Climate Change, Energy Transition, Energy Justice, and Social Stratification. In her thesis, she aims to explore the treatment of the structural inequalities and injustices in the process of energy transition towards renewable energy by conducting a comparative study between India and Australia. She holds a national-level Junior Research Fellowship funded by the University Grants Commission. She obtained her B.A. (Hons.) in Sociology from Hindu College, Delhi University, and M.A. in Sociology from CSJM University. In 2018, she worked as a lecturer at the College of Law, Pranveer Singh Institute of Technology. She presented her work at the 'International Workshop on Socio-ecological relations of the energy transition in Australia, Germany, and India in 2019' and 'European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) General Conference 2020'.

Mayurakshi Acharyya

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Mayurakshi obtained her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degree in Sociology from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. Previously, she worked as a guest lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Shri Shikshayatan College, Kolkata, teaching both Honours and General program students. She cracked the National Eligibility Test on her first attempt and is also a holder of the University Grants Commission Junior Research Fellowship. Currently, she is a second-year PhD student at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kanpur. Her area of interest lies in Environmental Sociology, Environmental Justice, Energy Transition, social mobility, and migration.

Pritha Sarkar

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Pritha’s doctoral work focuses on the role of science and the scientific community in India’s energy transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy. She obtained M.A in Sociology from the University of Kalyani, where she conducted a sociological study on the level of awareness about gender role stereotype among married women. Before joining IIT Kanpur, Pritha’s work experience spanned diverse areas, including the banking sector, welfare organisations, and teaching positions in schools and colleges.

Nandana Bhattacharjee

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Nandana has obtained her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Presidency University, Kolkata and master’s in sociology from South Asian University, New Delhi. She has qualified National Eligibility Test for Assistant Professor in January 2022. During her bachelor’s she has done an internship from Hope Foundation, Calcutta. Currently she is a doctoral candidate in Sociology at Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kanpur. Her doctoral work at IIT Kanpur focuses on gender, justice and energy transition.

Naorem Nishikanta Mangang

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The growing concerns of climate change in the world motivated Nishi to work on the policy framework of energy transition in India. He is interested in investigating the role of trade unions in coal-based power plants in India. Before joining IIT Kanpur, he completed M.Phil. in Sociology from Jadavpur University and obtained an M.A. in Sociology from Pondicherry University. In 2019, he presented a paper titled “Market-a space for social mobility and identity assertion for the women in Manipur” at the National Seminar on “Regimes of Gender in Contemporary Globalization” organised by the Department of Political science, Presidency University Kolkata. He is currently receiving a Junior Research Fellowship from the University Grants Commission for his doctoral research.

Anjali Yadav

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Anjali Yadav is a 3rd year PhD student at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. She is also a joint degree PhD student at IIT Kanpur- La Trobe University Research Academy. Her broad research interests are Environment, Energy and Climate Change and their intersection with human society. In her PhD thesis, she is studying social norms, pro-environmental behaviors and their implications for common pool resources, such as the Ganga river. She employs mixed-method approach to study the coupling between common pool resources and social norms. Her methodology combines quantitative surveys, spatial analysis and multivariate statistics.
Anjali was selected at The Summer Institutes in Computational Social Sciences (SICSS-IAS) for two weeks of training program in computational social sciences research. She is the recipient of Junior Research Fellowship, now upgraded to Senior Research Fellowship by the University Grants Commission, India.
She obtained her MSc. in Environmental Studies at University of Delhi. In her master thesis, she used the Water Energy Food (WEF) Nexus framework to analyze climate change adaptation in the face of rapidly melting Himalayan glaciers. Previously, she has interned with ICLEI South Asia and her project on integrated urban water management won the ‘C4Y- IWP Water Champions Youth Fellowship 2019’ award. She cherishes the rich perspectives, pluralistic narratives and reconciliation of disciplines that people from varied backgrounds bring to the CEPRL.

Pradhuman

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Pradhuman is pursuing a M.Tech. in Sustainable Energy Engineering at IIT Kanpur. He is an enthusiastic researcher at the Just Transition Research Center, where he collaborates closely with Professor Pradip Swarnakar. His primary focus of research centers around the crucial topic of "Scaling Floating Solar in India." Beyond his research endeavors, he is actively involved in the IGBC Student Chapter, where his current objective is to secure a prestigious Platinum rating for the SEE departmental building. These experiences reflect his passion for sustainability and commitment to advancing renewable energy solutions in India.

Snehal

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Snehal is pursuing an M.Tech in Sustainable Energy Engineering at IIT Kanpur. Within the Just Transition Research Center (JTRC), he collaborates closely with Dr. Pradip Swarnakar on the topic of "Off-shore Wind Power Prediction." Outside of this research, Snehal plays a significant role in the IGBC Student Chapter, leading efforts to achieve platinum rating for the department building as per IGBC standards. Equipped with strong analytical abilities, he has hands-on experience in Machine Learning and AI techniques.

Avinash Kumar

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Avinash Kumar is Princeton-IITK Post-Doctoral Fellow funded by Princeton University. His work focuses on comparative climate policy networks involving Australia, Brazil, India, and Japan as part of the transnational project COMPON. He obtained MA in Development Studies and PhD in Sociology of Science and Technology from the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati. He was awarded ICSSR Post-Doctoral fellowship and Austrian research fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Science, Technology and Society (IAS-STS), Graz. His areas of interest include Science, Technology and Society (STS), Climate Change Policy, and Network Science. Dr. Kumar has been engaged in exploring the structure, pattern, and function of networks, particularly scientific, social, and policy networks using a combination of theoretical and empirical methods situated within science and technology sociology. His works have been published in Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, Perspectives on Global Development and Technology, Asian Journal of Social Science, and Journal of Scientometrics Research.

Bhavna Joshi

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Tracing her academic journey through multiple fields, including life sciences, biotechnology, forensic science, and anthropology, Bhavna Joshi is currently working on air pollution in Delhi using a sociological perspective. Her work engages with three broad themes- knowledge production, risk perception, and energy justice. It delves to decipher the instruments of construction and assertion of knowledge through discourses and myriad risk perceiving positions of various actors within the problem’s justice framework. Bhavna qualified for the National Eligibility Test for Junior Research Fellowship offered by the University Grants Commission of India in 2015. She completed her MSc. and M.Phil. degree in Anthropology from the University of Delhi, where she explored the socio-cultural connotations of ‘home’ and ‘homelessness’ through her ethnographic work in urban and rural India. Her paper, co-authored with Prof. Swarnakar, titled, ‘Staying away, staying alive: Exploring risk and stigma of COVID-19 in the context of beliefs, actors and hierarchies in India’ has been published in Current Sociology.

Swagata Das

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Swagata’s interest in environmental sociology drove her to explore the Forest Policy Network in India in her doctoral work. Her doctoral work aims to interrogate the actor negotiation and power governance within the broad contour of the Forest Policy Act 2006 at the domestic level. She holds a MA in Sociology from West Bengal State University and BA in Sociology from Kalyani University. In her MA dissertation, she examined the notion of the "social construction of Queers" in India by employing the theoretical lens of gender.

Saikat Howladar

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Saikat is a 3rd-year undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor in Technology in Material Science & Engineering at IIT Kanpur. He is interested in exploring contemporary research and developments in the field of sociology with collaborative computational techniques of text mining and Natural Language Processing. His other hobbies include photography, scriptwriting and filmmaking.

Reeti Chatterjee

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Riti Chatterjee has her PhD degree in department of Agricultural Extension on Social-ecology of Conservation Agriculture at farm level from Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV), West Bengal and worked as Senior Research Fellow under Centre for Advanced Agricultural Science and Technology (CAAST) on Conservation Agriculture project under ICAR-NAHEP-BCKV. She also visited The Ohio State University, Ohio, USA in 2020 as a short-term Visiting Scholar. So far she has attended 19 National and International Conferences, workshops and given oral and poster presentations with 5 best paper awards, and published 18 research papers on various national and international journals. She has already co-authored 7 books and 5 book chapters. She has qualified the National Eligibility Test for Assistant Professor conducted by UGC in her maiden attempt in May, 2017 and also the National Eligibility Test with ARS-Preliminary examination conducted by Agricultural Scientist Recruitment Board (ASRB) in May, 2018. Riti obtained her M.Sc. in Agricultural Sciences as the First Class First with OGPA 9.15, being the Gold-medallist. She has been awarded the best master’s thesis award jointly by BHU and RASSA.

Mudit Kumar Singh

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Mudit Kumar Singh completed his MBA from the University of Allahabad and PhD from Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad. He is a 2017-18 batch Fulbright alumnus and currently affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur as Postdoctoral Fellow. He is also affiliated with Duke University as Visiting Research Fellow. He has been doing research, advocacy, and teaching for the past twelve years in India. His recent studies apply a mix-method approach to explore linkages between social capital, social networks, and public participation in the context of small groups, local governance, and public policy. He has published in the International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy and Women’s Studies International Forum and has written multiple project and policy reports.

Barsha Nibedita

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Barsha has her PhD from the Department of Management Studies and Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad. Her research area of interest includes Energy Economics, Econometrics, Energy Transitions, Energy Finance, and Sustainable Development. She has completed her Masters in Applied Economics from Pondicherry Central University, India and M.Phil. in Developmental Economics from Ravenshaw University, India. She has participated in various research methodology workshops as well as conferences. Additionally, she has already published research papers related to the Energy Economics area in reputed research journals. Her thesis mainly focuses on evaluating the potential of energy diversity strategy to mitigate carbon emissions.

Rahul Maurya

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After completing his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Mumbai university, Rahul decided to pursue a master's degree in technology from the Sustainable Energy Engineering department at IIT Kanpur. He was inspired to do so by the ever-increasing pace of technological development and the growing emphasis on renewable energy sources. He is currently working under guidance of Prof. Pradip Swarnakar on the topic of “Solar-Wind hybrid plant compatibility in India”. He had also worked as intern in electricity and fuel division at ‘The Energy and Research Institute’ where he worked on development of machine learning model for predicting load demand.

Prakhar Choudhary

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Prakhar is currently pursuing his M.Tech. in Sustainable Energy Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, prior to this he completed his B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from Dumka Engineering College, Dumka. At IIT Kanpur, he has been awarded ‘Academic Excellence Award’ for his outstanding performance during the academic year 2021-2022. His master's thesis is focused on the development of Uttar Pradesh's power sector on the pathways of Gujarat. This involves projecting electricity demand and supply for both the states and developing norms to reduce GHG emissions and power outages.
In terms of professional experience, he worked as a Research Intern at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), Delhi where he conducted a critical analysis of DisComs' power procurement strategies and analyzed the data for long and short-term power procurement across various parameters like fuel source, ownership, costs, availability. His interest lies in data analysis particularly focused on Power Sector of India.

Pragya Saini

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Pragya Saini completed her under graduation from Gargi College, Delhi University with a Bachelor of Political Science and Economics. She has participated in various case study competitions and earned recognition from the Ambassador of Chile for her work in renewable energy start-ups, environment & sustainability. Committed to social causes, Pragya actively supports NGOs like the Spirit of Youth Foundation and the Amitasha Project. As a past research intern at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, she reviewed numerous journal articles and Papers in the area of IP & Sustainability and also learned the role of data analysis in evidence-based Policy research, implementation, and evaluation using tools like SPSS. Pragya's optimism and hard work drive her passion to contribute for just transition, energy, climate change policy, and sustainable development.

Kushal Singh

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Kushal has a Master's Degree in Ecology, Environment, and Sustainable Development from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. He also completed his Bachelor's Degree in Social Sciences from the same institute. Kushal has worked as a Vidhushi Fellow with Drishtee Foundation, focusing on community development, sustainable livelihoods, and micro-enterprise development. He has also interned at Snehalaya (Centre for Child Rights), Ashadeep (A Mental Health Society), and Aaranyak. For his master's thesis, Kushal conducted an Impact Assessment of Alternative Livelihoods: Piggery Intervention at Bhuyapara, Manas National Park. Kushal's research interests include climate change mitigation and adaptation, energy transition, waste management, and sustainable livelihoods. With an interdisciplinary background, Kushal is keen to utilize his passion for environmental stewardship as an intern at JTRC.