Colorado State University Archives

Syed Umer Latief

Dr. Syed Umer Latief is an assistant professor of geography in the Higher Education Department, Government of Jammu and Kashmir. He obtained his MSc in geography from the University of Kashmir, Srinagar, and PhD from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. His doctoral research focused on analyzing the impact of climate change on the Kolahoi glacier in the Kashmir Valley. During his PhD, he was awarded a travel grant by the International Council for Science to attend the ISMASS workshop in Portland, Oregon which was jointly organized by SCAR, Cambridge, England, and the IASC Secretariat, Potsdam, Germany. In 2015, he joined Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi as a post-doctoral research associate, where he worked on the glaciers of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

Dr. Umer’s research interests include glaciology, geomorphology, remote sensing, climate change and paleo-climate. He has published many research articles and book chapters on glaciers and climate change.

During his Fulbright-Kalam Climate Fellowship for Academic and Professional Excellence, Dr. Umer is investigating climatic variability and glacial dynamics in the upper Liddar Valley in the geological past, as well as in the future. He will use detailed field stratigraphy aided by OSL and CRN chronology of erosional and depositional features to ascertain the timing, magnitude and pattern of glaciations during the late Quaternary period.

Shikha Dixit

Dr. Shikha Dixit received her B.Sc. degree in agriculture from Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur in 2010. She obtained her postgraduation degree in plant biotechnology from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru. She received an ICAR fellowship during her graduation and a DBT fellowship for her postgraduate studies after securing ninth position in a national-level exam. She received her Ph.D. in molecular biology and biotechnology in the year 2020 from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. Her Ph.D. research was focused on understanding the defense molecular signaling pathway in response to fungal pathogens. During her postdoctoral research, she worked on DBT-funded and ICAR-funded projects, focusing on improving tolerance against necrotrophic pathogens by finding unique signaling factors in response to pathogens. She has published her research in prestigious journals and has also presented her findings at numerous national and international conferences. Apart from the academic fellowships, she is also the recipient of the IARI merit medal in 2020 and the ITS grant in 2023.

Adverse climatic conditions affect both plants and pathogens. Given their rapid adaptation ability, fluctuations in the weather pattern provide pathogens with more favorable conditions to thrive and increase the possibility of intense disease breakouts. As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research fellow at the Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, Dr. Dixit is identifying genes conferring favorable root architecture and pathogen tolerance under the dual-stress situation.

Wasim Niyaz Munshi

Wasim Niyaz Munshi obtained his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, in 2021. He then joined the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras to pursue an integrated MS + Ph.D. in civil engineering. His doctoral thesis focuses on developing a robust phase-field model for fracture propagation. The developed model will leverage parallel computing on distributed memory environments and adaptive mesh refinement to offset the high computational costs.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research fellow at Colorado State University, Boulder, CO, Wasim is addressing the key limitation of the phase-field method, which is its high computational cost. The eventual outcome of this research will result in a unique 3D subsurface fracture propagation capability that addresses a key bottleneck for several industrial applications such as geothermal energy, shale gas exploration, and composites. Wasim has presented his initial work at reputed conferences like CFRAC 2023 and ISTAM 2023. In addition to several high-impact research publications, this research will also facilitate long-term collaborations between the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and the host laboratory in the U.S. in a strategic area of national importance for both nations.

Coming from the picturesque valley of Kashmir, Wasim has a deep appreciation for nature. He loves spending time in nature and is particularly enthusiastic about hiking and camping. He enjoys travelling to new places and is very keen to learn about different cultures.