Akhil Mythri
Akhil Mythri adopts a multidisciplinary approach to climate change research spanning the physics, ecology and economics of climate change. At NIAS, he works with the Energy, Environment and Climate Change Programme of the School of Natural Sciences and Engineering. He has a background in both the natural and social sciences, with an MSc in Physics from the University of Mysore, Mysuru and an MSc in Climate Change and Sustainability Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
Earlier, he worked with the computational biology group at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai where he did his MSc dissertation in stochastic nonlinear dynamics. He has worked as project assistant at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore studying observed and projected trends in bioclimatic variables in forest biomes of India. He has earlier been at NIAS as project associate, working on the preparation of India’s Third National Communication to the UNFCCC, and analyzing the global mitigation pathways used in the Sixth Assessment of the IPCC. Prior to joining NIAS as a PhD scholar, he worked briefly in the Monsoon Dynamics lab at Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay, studying energetics-based approaches to modeling the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone and the monsoons.
Akhil’s doctoral research focuses on land use change and climate change, with both science and policy components:
1. The representation of carbon fluxes due to land use change in earth system models: evaluating its accuracy and formulating methods for its improvement,
2. The development of future land use scenarios based on the principle of equity, prioritizing the developmental needs of the Global South.
His areas of research interest also include climate change impacts in the Himalayan mountain region, development of early warning systems for flood and heat extremes, and Global South perspectives in international climate change negotiations.
Apart from formal academic and research training, he has had extensive on-ground fieldwork experience in Karnataka and in Uttarakhand Himalaya, working with social movements and grassroots organizations. Along with working on climate change, Akhil enjoys mountaineering and has trained at the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports (NIMAS), Arunachal Pradesh.