Doctoral Students

Riza Fathima A V is a doctoral student at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, and is associated with the School of Conflict and Security Studies. She holds a Master's degree in Political Science from the University of Hyderabad and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam. Her research interests centre on Africa, with a specific focus on the Sahel region, particularly conflicts and security in the Sahel, the intersectionality of challenges, and an interest in the experiences and vulnerabilities of women in conflict-affected contexts.

Antariksh Pasricha is a PhD scholar at NIAS working with Dr. Deepti Navaratna. His work brings together music, technology, and the study of the human brain. With academic training in Computer Science and Hindustani music, and over five years of experience as a music educator, he brings both analytical and creative perspectives to his research. His primary interest in music perception developed through his experience of teaching, where he became fascinated by how the same piece of music could be perceived, interpreted, and experienced so differently by different listeners and students. This curiosity gradually led him to explore the role of individual experience, learning, and culture in shaping musical perception.

 A trained vocalist and guitarist, he often experiments with bringing the melodic phrasing and nuances of Indian ragas to the guitar- an experience that has further deepened his interest in how musical ideas are perceived and expressed across different musical contexts. His doctoral research focuses on the perception of continuous and microtonal pitch in Indian classical music, particularly phenomena such as shruti, meend, and other forms of pitch movement. He is interested in combining behavioural, computational, and neuroscientific approaches to understand how the brain, musical experience, and cultural learning shape our perception of music.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antariksh-pasricha/

Email: antariksh.pasricha@nias.res.in, antariksh.pasricha@gmail.com

Anirban Ghosh is a PhD Scholar in the School of Humanities at NIAS under the program of Heritage Science and Society with the supervision of Dr. S. Udayakumar. 

He is a young archaeologist and an early-career researcher who is enthusiastic about the past for a better future. 

He has academic training in Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Archaeology, along with a UGC-NET JRF in Archaeology; his research interests include ethnoarchaeology, traditional performance traditions, archaeology, heritage, and the study of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. He has field experience with the Archaeological Survey of India, including archaeological excavation, documentation, and heritage-related work, and has published research on Indian theatre, dramaturgy, and cultural history.

Ammu Muraleedharan is a PhD Scholar at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru, at the School of Natural Sciences and Engineering. She holds a Master’s degree in Education from the Regional Institute of Education (NCERT), Mysuru, and a Master’s degree in Chemical Sciences from the Central University of Punjab. She qualified for UGC–Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) in Education in June 2025. She also worked as a Post Graduate Teacher at various schools in Karnataka.

Her research interests lie at the intersection of science education, environmental education, and climate change, with particular emphasis on the classroom transaction of environmental issues in school settings

Sangeeth is a doctoral candidate in the School of Social Sciences at NIAS. His current research is on knowledge, technolgy and development discoruses in Keralam. His research interests lie broadly in science and society studies, development studies, political economy, and political ecology. He holds an M.Sc.(Hon.s) in Physics, a B.E.(Hon.s) in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, an M.A. in Political Science, and an M.A. in Development Studies.

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.

Mr. Prasanna Khanvilkar is a doctoral student in the School of Humanities at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), conducting research on donative patronage during the early historical Western Deccan. He holds a Master's degree in Ancient Indian Heritage Culture & Archaeology from Deccan College Post-Graduate Research Institute, Pune. His professional experience includes serving as a Research Assistant in the Department of Palaeography, Epigraphy & Numismatics at the Indian Institute of Heritage, Noida (Formerly National Museum Institute), and working as a research intern on the Government of India's Department of Science and Technology project on "Scientific Investigation, Digital Documentation and Conservation of Petroglyphs of Konkan."

His research interests include Ancient Indian History and Culture, ancient and medieval Indian scripts, and environmental archaeology.

Paavana P. Varma is a doctoral student in the School of Natural Sciences and Engineering. She is working with the Energy, Environment and Climate Change Programme. Her research explores the concept of charisma in conservation, examining how narratives about nature and species shape human perceptions, ethics, and relationships with the environment. Her research interests include environmental humanities, conservation narratives, human–nature relationships, affect studies, and interdisciplinary approaches to the Anthropocene.

Rupsa Karmakar is a PhD student at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (School of Humanities), Bengaluru, whose research involves archaeometallurgy, indigenous smelting, the history and the processes of metal crafting technology, ethnoarchaeology, and preservation of both tangible and intangible heritages in India. She holds an M.Sc. In Anthropology with a specialization in Paleoanthropology-Prehistoric Archaeology and a B.Sc. in Anthropology from the University of Calcutta.

Manikranth Chakravarthula is a doctoral student at the Conflict Resolution and Peace Research Programme, School of Conflict and Security Studies, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru. He holds a Master’s degree in Conflict Analysis and Peacebuilding from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History from Hindu College, University of Delhi. His research interests centre on political violence and peacebuilding in South Asia, with a focus on Indian approaches, state responses, and the role of civil society in negotiating state-society relations in conflict and post-conflict contexts