University of Miami Archives

Prof. Shouraseni Roy is a professor in the Department of Geography and Sustainable Development at the University of Miami. Her research centers on long-term climate trends and their societal impacts, with a particular focus on the intersections of climate change, health, and gender in the Global South. Over the past two decades, she has gained national and international recognition for her contributions to climate science, which reflects in her selection as a contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports.

Her methodological research approach emphasizes spatial analysis using GIS, remote sensing, and climate data. She analyzes field data, satellite imagery, and both gridded and station-level data sets to identify urban heat island trends in cities like New Delhi, Belize, and Beijing. Her research has been published in leading journals like the International Journal of Climatology, Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, and Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. As a recognized expert on Indian climate, she has also contributed an entry on Monsoons to the Encyclopedia of Geography published by the American Association of Geographers (AAG). Several of her publications on long-term climate change have been cited in IPCC reports. Prof. Roy was also selected as an AAG delegate to attend the UNFCCC’s Conference of Parties (COP) meetings in Lima and Paris. Earlier, she had conducted a Fulbright study in India on the long-term impact of urbanization on groundwater levels in Delhi and Mumbai.

Besides her climate-related research, Prof. Roy has actively engaged in projects that examine urban processes using big data and geospatial analysis. Her recent work in Miami, conducted in collaboration with students and faculty, explored spatial patterns of crime, traffic accidents, and vulnerability to sea-level rise.

Prof. Roy’s Fulbright-Kalam project is documenting the localized impacts of climate change in the Sundarban Delta through comprehensive spatial analysis and fieldwork. The study is assessing shoreline changes, subsidence, and local adaptation responses in order to provide critical insights for policymakers and local communities. The results will be shared with local stakeholders and used to develop a knowledge hub dashboard for collaborations.

Dr. Jyotika Ramaprasad is professor in the School of Communication at the University of Miami, Florida. Her major teaching areas are: communication and global social change; cultures and communication; media literacy; communication theory; participatory action research; and quantitative research methods. She is trained in dialogic pedagogy and is now under training to teach a course on collaborative learning across cultures. Her current research is in international communication, social change communication, and journalism studies.

Dr. Ramaprasad has been involved in curriculum development in East and Southern Africa and South Asia. Her work in Europe involves teaching in Austria and working in North Macedonia with the Romas and healthcare providers to facilitate social change towards more positive interactions. Her health-related social change communication work has been implemented in Uganda, and health is the focus of her current project with migrants in Florida. Besides, Dr. Ramaprasad’s environmental projects have been implemented in Vietnam (on flood preparedness) and Miami (on artificial coral reef development and testing).

Dr. Ramaprasad’s research has been published in reputed journals like Social Marketing Quarterly, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, International Communication Research Journal, Asian Journal of Communication, Mass Communication and Society, The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, Journal of Advertising, and Digital Journalism. She has also edited two books, one of which received the 2020 Best Book Award of the International Journal of Press/Politics. She is on the editorial board of publications like Journalism and Mass Communication, Journalism Studies, and International Communication Research Journal. Dr. Ramaprasad has also served as vice dean for graduate studies at the University of Miami and as associate and interim dean at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Dr. Ramaprasad’s Fulbright-Nehru project is involved in teaching social change communication in instructional settings and through experiential engagement in a community social issue to enable participatory learning and outreach. The goal is to guide ethical corporate social responsibility among MICA’s business students and to localize solutions and creative communication through research-based understanding of community culture and communication practices.