Alumni

Sandipta is currently working as a Post-Doctoral Associate in the Heritage Science and Society Programme, School of Humanities, at the National Institute of Advanced Studies under the project titled “Towards a National Cultural Landscape Information System: Mapping Heritage Sites for Inclusive Planning”. Her contribution to the project involves site-specific archaeological and historical landscape documentation, mapping, and analysis using geospatial techniques. The documented outputs and spatial datasets are being integrated into the Kasturi Geospatial portal of Bhuvan in collaboration with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC). Her research focuses on cultural landscape studies through the integration of geospatial technologies and historical evidence-based analysis, with special emphasis on Historical GIS (H-GIS) applications for heritage documentation, mapping, and inclusive planning. Her specialization in Urban Studies, particularly examining the impact of urban growth and urban threats on heritage landscape environments. She works on understanding the transformation of cultural landscapes over time and developing geospatial frameworks for heritage conservation and sustainable urban planning.

Samayita Banerjee is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Heritage Science and Society Programme at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru. Her work at NIAS focuses on the spatial documentation and GIS analysis of cultural heritage landscapes across India as part of the project Towards a National Cultural Landscape Information System, which is developing the KASTURI Portal, India's first curated geospatial heritage platform hosted on ISRO-Bhuvan. Her contributions include landscape mapping, dataset validation, and the development of spatial narratives for understudied archaeological sites. Her broader research specialisation lies in the landscape archaeology and geoarchaeology of South Asia, with a particular focus on human-environment interactions in the deltaic and coastal zones of Bengal and the forested uplands of central India.

Dr Dipak Mandal is a Post-Doctoral Associate at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru. His research focuses on environmental governance, sustainability, and development studies, with particular attention to how socio-ecological systems respond to change in urban and coastal regions. His current work examines climate change, livelihood transitions, and ecosystem dynamics in the Indian Sundarbans. Through field-based research and stakeholder engagement, he explores how environmental vulnerability shapes everyday life, mobility, and adaptation in vulnerable coastal communities.

His doctoral research on urban environmental movements in Bengaluru examined the role of civic engagement in issues such as waste management and the conservation of urban commons. Broadly, his work is driven by an interest in understanding how community-led initiatives can contribute to more sustainable and inclusive forms of environmental governance.

Dr. Diya Mukherjee worked as a Post-Doctoral Associate in the School of Humanities, specifically with the program of Heritage Science and Society at NIAS.

Anjani Devi was a Post-Doctoral Associate in the School of Conflict and Security Studies, International Strategic and Security Studies Programme, until September 12, 2023.

Dr. Kripa M K worked as a Post-Doctoral Associate under the School of Natural Sciences and Engineering at NIAS

Surabhi Agarwal is a PhD student at the School of Social Sciences. She is interested in exploring how ideas and concepts from Buddhist philosophy can inform research in the social sciences. She has an MPhil in sociology from Hyderabad Central University and an MA in Dalit and Tribal Studies from Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya, Wardha.

She has also completed a diploma course in Buddhist philosophy from Tibet House, Delhi, and a post-graduate certificate course in Western philosophy from the Open University, UK. She has worked as a social worker and as a transcriptionist.

Abhishek Dodda left the Institute. He was a Junior Research Fellow who worked with the SERB (POWER) project.