Host City USA: Jaipur

Nundini Varshney

Nundini Varshney is a public health advocate and aspiring physician with a strong background in clinical research, health education, and community-based initiatives. She graduated cum laude in human biology and with a minor in business from the University of California San Diego. Her academic foundation is complemented by extensive clinical research experience across Southern California, where she has contributed to studies focused on Alzheimer’s dementia, anemia in chronic kidney disease, and novel cancer therapies targeting genetic mutations.

In parallel with her scientific work, Nundini has led efforts to increase access to life-saving education and resources. She is the founder of a student-led organization that has trained over 4,000 middle- and high-school students in CPR and AED (automated external defribillator) usage. Her advocacy work has contributed to the development and co-sponsorship of legislation mandating annual CPR and AED training for students and teachers across California.

Her interests lie at the intersection of medicine, policy, and education, particularly in the fields of cancer prevention, adolescent health, and reproductive justice. With a commitment to serving marginalized populations and a deep appreciation for culturally informed care, Nundini seeks to bridge the gap between science and community impact. She aims to pursue a career in oncology that integrates clinical care, research, and advocacy to advance health equity at both local and global levels.

Nundini’s Fulbright-Nehru public health project in Rajasthan is focusing on improving adolescent awareness of cervical cancer and increasing the HPV vaccination uptake. In collaboration with Mahatma Gandhi University of Medical Sciences and Technology, she is surveying students, parents, and educators in Jaipur, Rajasthan, to identify gaps in reproductive health education, particularly omissions related to HPV and cervical cancer in national guidelines. The project is also developing context-sensitive interventions shaped by cultural, gender, and economic factors. Nundini will use her findings to deliver evidence-based policy recommendations to support equitable vaccine access across state-funded health systems.

Karan S. Surana

Dr. Karan Surana, born in India, received his BE in mechanical engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, India, in 1965. He then attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he obtained his MS and PhD degrees in mechanical engineering in 1967 and 1970, respectively. For 15 years, he worked in industry in research and development in various areas of computational mechanics and software development: SDRC, Cincinnati (1970–1973); EMRC, Detroit (1973–1978); and McDonnell-Douglas, St. Louis (1978–1984). In 1984, he joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering faculty at the University of Kansas, where he is currently the Deane E. Ackers University Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering.

Dr. Surana’s areas of interest and expertise are computational mathematics, computational mechanics, and continuum mechanics. He is the author of over 350 research reports, conference papers, and journal articles. He has served as advisor and chairman of 50 MS students and 25 PhD students in various areas of computational mathematics and continuum mechanics. He has delivered many plenary and keynote lectures in various national and international conferences and congresses on computational mathematics, computational mechanics, and continuum mechanics.

Dr. Surana has also served on international advisory committees of many conferences and has co-organized mini symposia on the k-version of the finite element method, computational methods, and constitutive theories at the U.S. national congresses of Computational Mechanics organized by the U.S. Association of Computational Mechanics (USACM). He has also organized a mini symposium on classical and non-classical continuum mechanics at the Society of Engineering Science (SES). He is a member of the International Association of Computational Mechanics (IACM), USACM, and SES, as well as a fellow and life member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Dr. Surana’s most notable contributions to his field include: large deformation finite element formulations of shells; the k-version of the finite element method; operator classification and variationally consistent integral forms in methods of approximations for BVPs and IVPs; and ordered rate constitutive theories for solid and fluent continua. His present research work is on non-classical continuum theories for solid and fluent continua and associated constitutive theories. He is the author of recently published textbooks: Advanced Mechanics of Continua (CRC/Taylor & France); The Finite Element Method for Boundary Value Problems: Mathematics and Computations (CRC/Taylor & Francis); The Finite Element Method for Initial Value Problems: Mathematics and Computations (CRC/Taylor & Francis); and Numerical Methods and Methods of Approximation in Science and Engineering (CRC/Taylor & Francis).

 

Joseph Meert

Dr. Joseph Meert, originally from Jackson, Michigan, completed his bachelor’s (1986) and master’s (1988) in geology from the University of Florida. He got his PhD in geology from the University of Michigan in 1993. The focus of his doctoral work was on Precambrian tectonics and paleogeographic reconstructions. Dr. Meert completed a short (eight-month) postdoctoral fellowship at the same institution before assuming an assistant professorship at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana, until 2001. Following a one-year sabbatical to Norway and France, he moved to the University of Florida in Gainesville where he is currently a professor and undergraduate coordinator in geological sciences. Dr. Meert and his wife are celebrating their 30th year of marriage and are proud parents of Joseph, Brian, and Alex. They enjoy raising butterflies and bluebirds in their garden.

Dr. Meert’s research on Earth’s paleogeography has continued apace with a focus on the assembly of Peninsular India between 2.3 to 0.5 billion years ago. He has worked on five continents and published more than 170 articles and book chapters. His research in India has garnered international press attention. Most recently, he was featured in New York Times (Forget the Fossil Error It isn’t the First) and the French magazine Science & Vie (“ERREUR sur les fossile!”). Dr. Meert is also a fellow of the Geological Society of America and has served as president and vice president of the International Association for Gondwana Research.

Dr. Meert’s Fulbright-Nehru project in India is examining the Vindhyan sedimentary basin in both Rajasthan and the Son Valley region to solve a long-standing conundrum regarding the age of the rocks and their role in India’s geological history. His research is using the study of fossil magnetism to determine their past location and geochronology to provide a temporal framework. He is also teaching a short course in paleogeography and paleomagnetism at his host institution and hopes to generate student interest in these fields.

Parakh Hoon

Dr. Parakh Hoon is a professor of political science at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, Washington. He earned a PhD in political science from the University of Florida, a master’s in international development from Brigham Young University, an MA in international relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, and a BA from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. His academic career includes faculty positions at American University, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Virginia Tech, California State University Long Beach, and Saint Martin’s University.

With over 25 years of diverse teaching and research experience, Dr. Hoon has significantly contributed to the fields of governance and policy, particularly in southern Africa. He has participated and co-led various international workshops, including the Africa-APSA workshop in Botswana in 2012, funded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation. His research employs a mixed-methods approach, integrating qualitative and quantitative techniques to study topics ranging from livelihood adaptation and climate change to wildlife conservation politics in southern Africa. His work has been published in scholarly journals such as African Studies Quarterly, Development Southern Africa, and Society & Natural Resources.

Jaipur, with its rich history of cultural syncretism, is serving as the backdrop for Dr. Hoon’s Fulbright-Nehru project. Dr. Hoon is examining vocational education frameworks by contrasting the community college model in the United States with the Swiss-German system at Bhartiya Skill Development University (BSDU) in Jaipur. He is leading a faculty community of practice, offering workshops and presentations on the politics and ethical use of generative artificial intelligence tools, assisting BSDU with curriculum development, and exploring industry partnerships, especially in green technologies like solar and wind. The project is also identifying vocational and technical programs between BSDU, South Puget Sound Community College, and community and technical institutions in the U.S. to foster faculty and student collaboration and exchange.

M.J. Levy Dickson

Ms. M.J. Levy Dickson is an artist and educator. She explores global interconnectedness through her artwork and discovers common denominators in the natural world. She finds in nature patterns of color, light, mood, subject, texture, and sound that transcend conventional boundaries, such as those between sight and sound, land and water, or time and space. These discoveries are reflected both in her artwork and her teaching.

Ms. Dickson’s body of work is deep and varied, and questions the boundaries between abstract, representational, and expressionist art forms. It was while illustrating the book Wildflowers of Nantucket, as well as many brochures for conservation organizations, that Ms. Dickson became aware of the global similarity between flowers and plants in nature and textile patterns. She has exhibited her installations with New York Parks and Recreation Art in the Parks Program, as well as with the Historic House Trust of New York. She has also worked with poets and musicians to foster combined sensory communication.

Ms. Dickson has held teaching positions as artist-in-residence in Tangier and with The Farm in Jaipur. She has designed and taught in the art studio at Michael Graves College, Wenzhou-Kean University, in China. She has also taught at MIT and the Boston Architectural Center, and was the first artist-in-residence at the Perkins School for the Blind. She is currently teaching in the Studio One Program of Fountain House in New York. She has always welcomed opportunities to work with people who have special needs.

Ms. Dickson received a diploma from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; her BFA from Tufts University; and her MFA from Boston University.

In her Fulbright-Nehru project, Ms. Dickson is illustrating how people can be brought together through nature and art. Beginning her project from a woodblock printing studio in Jaipur, she is preparing a catalog of its design motifs by identifying each plant species and where it grows. She is also working with artists in India to create sculptures inspired by wildflowers using repurposed materials.