Host Institution USA: Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

Amol Yadav

Dr. Amol Yadav is a tenure-track assistant professor in the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina (UNC) – Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University – with affiliations in neurosurgery and neuroscience at the UNC School of Medicine. He is a biomedical engineer and neuroscientist by training. After obtaining his PhD in biomedical engineering from Duke University under the mentorship of Dr. Miguel Nicolelis, Dr. Yadav honed his expertise through advanced postdoctoral training in neurobiology and neurosurgery at Duke. This propelled him to establish the Brain-Spine-Machine Interfaces Lab at UNC. His laboratory’s research is interdisciplinary in its approach, merging techniques and concepts from brain-machine interfaces with spinal neuromodulation to innovate in the field of neuroengineering. Dr. Yadav works closely with surgeons and clinicians to adapt new therapies tested in preclinical animal models into clinical applications for patients suffering from sensorimotor loss due to neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, and stroke. He is the principal investigator of several ongoing preclinical studies and clinical trials at UNC. His research efforts have been recognized with several accolades, including the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, the NIH K12 Early Career Investigator Award, the Duke Germinator Research Award, and the UNC Junior Faculty Development Award. In addition to leading an active research group, Dr. Yadav tutors undergraduate and graduate students at UNC on brain-machine interfaces and human physiology.

Dr. Yadav’s Fulbright-Nehru project is developing clinical protocols and tools for brain-computer interface (BCI) and neuromodulation trials for the Indian patient population, in collaboration with scientists, engineers, and clinicians at IIT Delhi and AIIMS Delhi. The expected outcomes of the project include a research protocol for BCI and neuromodulation trials for sensorimotor rehabilitation, regulatory filings, clinical metrics to evaluate musculoskeletal function, Indian context-specific computational tools and algorithms, and collaborative manuscript/grant submissions.

Jesse Jokerst

Dr. Jesse Jokerst is a professor in the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). He graduated cum laude from Truman State University (Kirksville, MO) in 2003 with a BS in Chemistry and completed a PhD in chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin in 2009 (adviser: John T. McDevitt). He was a postdoc with the late Prof. Sanjiv Sam Gambhir at Stanford Radiology from 2009 to 2013, and was an instructor in the same department from 2013 to 2015. Dr. Jokerst joined UCSD in July 2015 where he leads a research program that integrates three distinct yet interdependent pillars: synthesis of nanoparticles, peptides, and small molecules; engineering of custom acoustic hardware and software tools; and human subjects research. Imaging (ultrasound, photoacoustics, and optical imaging) is the “glue” that binds these research areas together. His lab has active human subjects trials in wound care, COVID, arthritis, anticoagulation, and dentistry.

Dr. Jokerst has raised over USD 20 million to support his work, and has published over 180 manuscripts. His former trainees are at top universities and companies, including MIT, Harvard, Apple, and Intel. Dr. Jokerst has received the NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, the NIH New Innovator Award, the NSF CAREER Award, and the Stanford Radiology Alumni of the Year Award; he is also a Truman State Distinguished Alumni Fellow. Further, he is an associate editor at ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces and former chair of the NIH study section on imaging probes and contrast agents.

Dr. Jokerst’s Fulbright-Nehru project is developing a fast, inexpensive test for active TB in rural and resource-limited settings in India. This project will generate materials science and biotechnology tools with applications beyond TB, and thus benefit U.S. taxpayers with new assays for flu, colds, and foodborne illness. For Indian citizens, it will deliver a portable, rugged TB diagnostic usable in both urban and remote settings.

Abhishek Bhati

Dr. Abhishek Bhati is an associate professor of political science and director of the Asian Studies Program at Bowling Green State University, Ohio. He holds a PhD in public administration from the University of Nebraska, Omaha, and an MA from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. His research focuses on nonprofit and civil society organizations. Specifically, Dr. Bhati examines how nonprofit and civil society organizations mobilize resources to advance their mission and support public good. He was awarded the Wilson C. “Bill” Fundraising Research Award in 2021 and was a social impact strategy doctoral fellow at the School of Social Policy & Practice, University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Bhati’s work has appeared in top nonprofit and public administration journals such as Public Administration Review and Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. In 2022, his work received the best paper award from Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. Beyond his academic responsibilities, he serves on the Planning Commission of the city of Bowling Green.

Dr. Bhati’s Fulbright-Nehru research project is focusing on understanding how nonprofit and civil society organizations (CSOs) are using generative AI tools to advance their mission; it is also studying the potential pitfalls or challenges to the use of this emerging technology. The study is using a mixed-method research design by conducting an online survey and interviews with CSOs and other stakeholders in India. This research aims to benefit CSOs and policymakers by helping them understand the impact of “disruptive technologies” on the global civil society sector.

Supriya Pandit

Ms. Supriya Pandit is a recent graduate of Cornell University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology, Health and Society with minors in Global Health, Human Development, and Gerontology. As an undergraduate, she pursued a wide variety of interests, including human nutrition and reproduction, gender and sexuality, health policy, and ethics. She was also involved in research in molecular nutrition laboratory and pediatric medical practice. She has been a rock-climbing instructor and teaching assistant during her college career. Her work over three years as a resident advisor in an all-women’s dormitory, specializing in sexual violence prevention and response, as well as semester developing an intervention for women experiencing intimate partner violence during the pandemic have reinforced her commitment to gender equity. The culmination of her experiences, both academic and personal, has informed the questions she hopes to ask during her time in India. She hopes to continue her work as a physician and global health researcher. Upon the completion of her Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship, she plans to pursue graduate study in both medicine and public health. Her interests include running, rock climbing, yoga, and Hindustani classical music.

COVID-19 has had a well-defined impact on sexual and reproductive health services in India, but little is known about the intentions and behavior that underlie the needs for those services. During her Fulbright-Nehru project, Ms. Pandit is designing a qualitative study about how the pandemic has affected people’s desire for parenthood in the short- and long-term. She plans to conduct semi-structured interviews and focus groups with people of reproductive age, mainly women. Through this project, she hopes to learn more about how this global catastrophe has influenced norms, expectations, and concerns about having children, and to inform India’s family planning landscape as a whole.

Calvin McCormack

Mr. Calvin McCormack is a musician, audio engineer, and computer programmer from Baltimore, MD. He completed his undergraduate degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Michigan, where he focused on the intersection of jazz improvisation and non-western musical idioms. During this time, he spent two months in Mysuru studying the Saraswathi Veena. He is also a recent graduate of Berklee College of Music, where he received his master’s degree in Music Production, Technology, and Innovation, with an emphasis on the use of bio-sensors and accessible interfaces in musical instrument design. As part of his thesis at Berklee, Mr. McCormack developed software that uses electroencephalogram (EEG) brainwave signals to control digital music generation and sound design. Since 2018, Mr. McCormack has been working with CED Society, a Dehradun-based non-profit dedicated to supporting women in the Himalayan border region. Together with CED Society, Mr. McCormack has helped launch the Sound of Soul Recording Studio and Music Institute, a nonprofit music education center and recording studio designed to empower disadvantaged and disabled women through music education, production skills, and creative expression. Mr. McCormack has also worked as an active musician, music instructor, author of music teaching materials, assistant at a digital fabrication lab, and spent two years as an assistant engineer at Radio Active Productions recording studio in Austin, TX.

Traditional musical instruments have been developed and refined over centuries, but digital instruments are a relatively new technology with great potential for innovation. Mr. McCormack’s Fulbright-Nehru project aims to design, develop, and test digital musical instruments that have been created specifically for people with disabilities in remote areas of northern India. The project is using bio-sensors, low-cost computers, and digital fabrication tools to create accessible musical instruments and is studying their efficacy in rural areas, resulting in an enhanced understanding of the design and production of affordable and accessible creative tools.

Devendra Sharma

Dr. Devendra Sharma, is a Professor of Communication and Performance at California State University-Fresno. He is also a seventh-generation performer of Swang, Nautanki, and Raaslila, the traditional musical theater genres of northern India. He has given more than 1000 performances worldwide and has acted in and directed many films and television programs. His ancestors made “Rahas” musical theatre popular at Awadh’s Nawab (King) Wajid Ali Shah’s court in the mid 1800s. Dr. Sharma’s artistic mission is to use the indigenous performing arts to bring critical attention to contemporary global issues.

In 2021, Dr. Sharma received the largest commission in the traditional arts ever in the US from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to create a contemporary Nautanki opera. In 2010, he was invited by the world-famous Théâtre du Soleil in Paris to train French actors in Nautanki. His directed musical, “Hanuman Ki Ramayan” was premiered at Prithvi Theater in Mumbai, completing its 100 shows in August 2018. Dr. Sharma introduced Swang-Nautanki to America and Europe, where he created a Nautanki troupe, and has directed many productions.

Dr. Sharma has written numerous book chapters and journal articles. His forthcoming book titled, Nautanki: The Musical Theatre of North India will be published by Bloomsbury Publishing, England in 2023. His latest article comparing Ramlila and Nautanki was published in Asian Theatre Journal in 2021. Dr. Sharma has been a Visiting Professor/ Artist in Residence at institutions across the world such as University of Oxford, Columbia University, University of California-Berkeley, Film and Television Institute of India, and Banaras Hindu University, among many others.

In 2007-08, Dr. Sharma was the Chief Creative Consultant to the United Nations Joint Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in India. In this capacity, he designed a folk media communication campaign to spread awareness on HIV/AIDS. From 1999-2004, he helped Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs to create a massive folk media campaign for women’s empowerment and health in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. As part of the campaign, Dr. Sharma trained more than 150 folk troupes to stage more than 10,000 folk performances. His artistic website is www.devnautanki.com.

Swang-Nautanki (north India’s traditional opera) is dying along with its “akhārās” (community-based competitive performance groups) due to the media invasion. The goal of Dr. Sharma’s Fulbright-Nehru project is to achieve the urgently-needed documentation of Swang-Nautanki akhārās, hand-written and published scripts, performances, and the aging master-performers. His research also aims to understand how Swang-Nautanki is functioning as a communication medium for Indian villagers in the 21st century. To understand this, Dr. Sharma intends to collaborate with the local community in Mathura and the areas nearby to encourage a local troupe to create a Swang-Nautanki performance piece on a contemporary issue of their choice.

Elizabeth Kadetsky

Ms. Elizabeth Kadetsky is a journalist, essayist, and fiction writer whose work often explores uses of memory and the filters of perception that can influence, distort and protect it. Her explorations into nostalgia have led her to an interest in the layered significances around the topics of antiquities and patrimony. Her most recent book, The Memory Eaters, released in March 2020 and winner of the Juniper Prize in Creative Nonfiction, was featured in The Boston Globe, LA Review of Books, and The Rumpus and was named a top pandemic read by Buzzfeed. Her essays and short stories have been chosen for a Pushcart Prize, Best New American Voices, and two Best American Short Stories notable citations, and they have appeared in The New York Times, Antioch Review, Gettysburg Review, the Nation, and elsewhere. Her other books include two works of fiction and the hybrid work of memoir and reportage First There Is a Mountain, published by Little, Brown in 2004 and re-released as an e-book by Dzanc Books in 2019. The latter came out of Ms. Kadetsky’s research as a student Fulbrighter to India during the first of her two previous Fulbright grants. She is an Associate Professor of Fiction and Nonfiction at Penn State University and a Nonfiction Editor at New England Review.

Ms. Kadetsky’s narrative nonfiction Fulbright-Nehru project follows the story of a set of Gupta era sapta matrika sculptures and their theft, export, and recognition as objects of exquisite beauty on the world stage. A work of general nonfiction, the research investigates what became of missing members of the set of sculptures, stolen from a temple in Rajasthan in 1956. A work of archival research, travel writing, history, reflection, investigative journalism, and creative nonfiction, Ms. Kadetsky’s project and its original research uses her lens as a mother and daughter to explore the layered significance of the sculptures’ journey(s) in the context of international calls for the restitution and repatriation of stolen artworks.

Boaz Atzili

Dr. Boaz Atzili is an Associate Professor at the School of International Service of American University in Washington DC. He holds a PhD in Political Science from MIT and a BA from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Before coming to AU Dr. Atzili held a post-doctoral fellowship in the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University. His research focuses on territorial conflicts and peace, the politics of borders and borderlands, the security aspects of state weakness, and deterrence and coercion. He published two books, Good Fences Bad Neighbors: Border Fixity and International Conflict (University of Chicago Press: 2012), and Triadic Coercion: Israel’s Targeting of States that Host Nonstate Actors (Columbia University Press: 2018, with Wendy Perlman), as well as edited Territorial Designs and International Politics (Routledge: 2018, with Burak Kaderchan). His articles have been published, among other venues, in International Security, Security Studies, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, International Studies Review, and Territory, Politics, Governance.

Among other awards, Dr. Atzili’s work has gained the 2006 Edger E. Furniss Award for the best first book in international security from the Mershon Center for International Security, and the Kenneth N. Waltz Prize for the best 2006 dissertation in the area of security studies, from the American Political Science Association.

Dr. Atzili’s current project focuses on borderlands and buffer zones. He is interested in the way in which the interaction between center and periphery in borderlands affect interstate relations at the border, and the way international relations affect center-periphery relations within the borderlands. The project includes quantitative and qualitative components and an inter-regional comparison of South Asia and the Middle East.

India inherited from its British colonialists the notion that modern nation-state’s sovereignty stretches uniformly up to a country’s borders. But it also inherited a reality in which the presence of the state in its remote mountainous borderlands was very scarce. Dr. Atzili’s Fulbright-Nehru project seeks an investigation of center-periphery relations in the Indian borderlands with China and Nepal in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Ladakh. Through archival research and interviews, the research aims to advance our understanding of the role of center-periphery interaction in shaping perceptions, policies, and realities in the western Himalayas, at the edge of the Indian state.

Lavanya Nott

Lavanya Nott is a PhD student in geography at UCLA. She has a master’s degree in South Asia studies from Cornell University and a bachelor’s in English literature and mathematics from Bryn Mawr College. She has worked in organizing and research in the area of labor rights in both India and the U.S., most recently, with an organization in Bengaluru on the working conditions in export-oriented manufacturing industries in South India. In the past, her research has been supported by Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships, and UCLA-administered grants.

Outside of research, Lavanya is an avid baker and cook, and enjoys playing football with a local club and spending time with her dog, Abacus.

Lavanya’s Fulbright research is exploring past and current projects on food sovereignty in postcolonial India and their entanglements with anti-imperialist internationalist currents across the Third World. Her study is particularly on how struggles around food sovereignty have transformed in response to neoliberalism, and how they relate to broader questions of political and economic sovereignty in the postcolonial world.

Abhiyudh Rajput

Abhiyudh Rajput (they/them/theirs) holds a BS in environmental health and a BA in cultural anthropology from the University of Rochester. Professionally, they are experienced in clinical, qualitative, and wet-lab research, with a paper published on a potential therapy for diabetes. Studying a medical treatment led Abhiyudh toward the path of preventive health as they felt they could have a greater impact on creating conditions that prevent diseases. This realization, combined with their fields of discipline, led Abhiyudh to study urban planning as they began to realize how much of one’s health is determined by the design and layout of their city; for example, street design dictating whether one walks or drives, thus impacting exercise levels, mental health, and likelihood of injury.

Abhiyudh’s interest in India stems from their heritage as well as their exploration of cultural phenomena such as nation-building, caste, and personhood through their anthropology degree. This degree coursework culminated in a senior project that explored how Indian films create a collective narrative around the communal unrest caused by the Partition. They hope to apply this appreciation for human subjectivity and cultural forces in their personal and professional life. Beyond critically exploring their culture, Abhiyudh has engaged with India through their involvement with the community-based health organization SOVA in Odisha. During their four years as an undergraduate, they developed a strong relationship with the SOVA community and assisted with fund-raising for programs such as adolescent reproductive health education and computer literacy.

Aside from academics, Abhiyudh is interested in music, films, and photography. In their free time, they enjoy being creative, making mashups of songs, taking photographs of streetscapes and friends, and concocting recipes that blend cultures. They enjoy exploring cities, both familiar and unfamiliar, eating their way through New York City’s Chinatown or taking a solo trip to Mexico City to practice Spanish.

Abhiyudh’s Fulbright-Nehru project is studying the impact of increasingly automobile-centric built environments in Delhi on the safety of pedestrians and the subjective impacts on their mobility. In this context, 50 pairs of roadways are being analyzed via a matched case-control study design, measuring quantitative and qualitative data related to pedestrian safety and comparing it to the actual historical safety of these roadways. Overall, this project seeks to understand what can make Delhi’s roadways safer for its most vulnerable users and how can future pedestrian deaths and injuries be prevented.