Brunswick Archives - Welcome to

Ms. Rinu Fathima is a PhD candidate at the CSIR National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, India. After finishing her master’s in Applied Geology from Pondicherry University, her passion for marine sciences took her to the National Institute of Oceanography in Panaji, Goa. Her research focuses on understanding past monsoon variability using marine microfossils known as foraminifera. She uses their assemblage and shell geochemistry to understand past climate. She studies the ecology of foraminifera in surface samples and further calibrates the proxies before using them in paleoclimate studies.

Rinu has published her work in multiple research journals and presented it at several national and international conferences. She was one of the two recipients of the American Geophysical Union-Berkner travel grant in 2024. During her master’s, she also received the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology-sponsored summer trainee grant, which helped her study tree rings to decode past climate. She has also participated in ocean expeditions onboard the research vessel Sindhu Sankalp.

At Rutgers during her fellowship, Rinu is using trace element geochemistry of the core top samples from the Andaman basin as a proxy calibration and will use this to understand past monsoon variability in a sediment core. Rinu is an avid consumer of fiction, cinema, and books. You can also find her watching sunsets or hiking during her free time. From one coastal city to the next, Rinu is looking forward to exploring the beaches of New Jersey during her time at Rutgers.

Zehra Mahdi is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Architecture and Regional Planning, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal. Her doctoral research focuses on neighborhood change in informal settlements that are predominantly inhabited by the Muslim community and influenced by the presence of anchor institutions. She employs visual geography along with oral research traditions to examine internal heterogeneity, particularly through the built environment, and capture residents’ perceptions and experiences.

Zehra holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi and a master’s degree in city planning from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal. She is a licensed architect and has worked on design and construction of public housing and healthcare infrastructure projects in the past.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research fellow at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, Zehra is exploring the role of infrastructural provision in gaining legitimacy in informal settlements. Her research will highlight the role of informal institutions, social capital and collective action in establishing channels of tacit understanding between the State and non-State actors. The study strives to contribute to the knowledge of the dynamics of informal settlements in the Global South. Zehra loves cycling, and enjoys curating cycling trails for exploration of heritage, food and art in cities.