‘Environmental studies’ encompasses research that addresses two of the major global challenges of current concern: climate change and biodiversity loss. In addition, professionals in the discipline can contribute to initiatives that will help meet many of the other Sustainable Development Goals, including food and water security and safety, affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, and life below water and on land. The doctoral program in Environmental Studies at FLAME will build on the strength of its interdisciplinary undergraduate program by training graduate researchers to conduct meaningful research in the discipline and make significant contributions in addressing issues of utmost importance at a local, national, regional and global level. Graduate researchers will have the opportunity to publish their work in academic journals and present at national and international conferences and communicate their findings to the broader public through relevant communication platforms. The specialization area of Environmental Studies at FLAME has strengths in the areas of climate research, biodiversity conservation, urban, rural and natural environments, sustainability (including development and food production), human-wildlife conflict, stakeholder livelihoods, environmental justice, and environmental policy. The PhD program in Environmental Studies at FLAME will be characterized by a strong interdisciplinary focus, with graduate researchers encouraged to collaborate with faculty and candidates across the different departments and research centres at FLAME. The structure of the PhD program will include coursework, internships, and original research. Scholars will be expected to develop strong quantitative, qualitative, and/or geospatial methodological skills depending on their area of research, and to develop academic experience and skills through work as a teaching assistant and/or instructor of a course.
PhD guides and Research Interests
Prof. Andrea Phillott
Ph.D. | Central Queensland University - Australia
Research Interests: Wildlife conservation, Human-wildlife interactions, Marine megafauna, Sea Turtles
Prof. Prasad Pathak
PhD – Geography | University of North Carolina - USA
Research Interests: Environmental Issues (GIS applications for wildlife conservation, human-animal conflict, corridor mapping and development), Urban Studies (urban heat island and action plan, urban - social justice/injustice), Remote Sensing Image Processing - AI/ML, Cellular Automata, Walkability Studies Using AI/ML
Prof. Anuradha Batabyal
Ph.D. – Ecology | IISc, Bangalore
Research Interests: Stress; Ecology; Behaviour; Environment; Cognition; Memory; Physiology
Prof. Chaitanya Giri
PhD - Astrochemistry | University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, France
Space, Oceans & Global Commons Policy; Strategy Analyses of Emerging Technologies for use in Environmental Applications; Science and Technology Diplomacy
Prof. Jayant Pande
PhD - Physics | Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg - Erlangen, Germany
Research Interests: Complex Systems, Population Dynamics, Micro swimming, Active Matter, Physics of Collective Animal Behaviour, Theoretical Ecology
Prof. Shweta Rana
PhD - Microbiology | Punjab Agricultural University - Ludhiana
Research Interests: Plant Sciences, Biofertilizers, Nanotechnology, Sustainability Studies with a focus on Sustainable Agriculture and Food production, Heavy metals, Ecosystem and Environmental Health, and Citizen Science