Archives: Meet Our India Fulbrighters

Rajkumar Dhakar

Dr. Rajkumar Dhakar obtained his B.Sc. in agriculture from the College of Agriculture Dhule, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth Rahuri, Maharashtra in 2008. He obtained his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in 2010 and 2020, respectively, from the Division of Agricultural Physics, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. Currently, he is a faculty member at IARI. In his doctoral research, Dr. Dhakar focused on developing a novel spatial field scale wheat yield forecasting system through integration of satellite remote sensing derived leaf area index into agroecosystem model along with weather forecast. He has published about 30 research papers in journals of national and international repute. Currently, he is working on projects such as mapping tillage patterns in rice-wheat cropping systems using satellite data, crop yield forecasting, and precision nitrogen management in wheat using smartphone and satellite data.

Dr. Dhakar is a recipient of the ICAR JRF Fellowship (2008), IARI Merit Medal for M.Sc. (2011), CSIR-UGC JRF Fellowship (2010), DST-INSPIRE fellowship (2011), Best M.Sc. thesis award from the Association of Agrometeorologist (2011), IARI Merit Medal for Ph.D. (2021), Best PhD thesis award from the Association of Agrometeorologist (2021), Best Oral Presentation awards from ISRS (2016) and from the Association of Agrometeorologist (2014).

During his Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research fellowship, Dr. Dhakar is assessing general epidemiological models of airborne fungal infections for the prediction of diseases in apples; mapping and detecting diseases through small unmanned aerial system using artificial intelligence techniques; and evaluating economic feasibility of precision fungicide applicators over conventional ones.

Anilkumar Chandrappa

Dr. Anilkumar Chandrappa is a scientist at the ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, who is focused on genetic gains in rice breeding. He graduated from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru. While pursuing his Ph.D., Dr. Chandrappa studied classical genetic studies in chilli, which earned him a university gold medal for outstanding research in 2019. He was a recipient of a national fellowship to support his Ph.D. from the University Grants Commission (UGC), Government of India. His research interests include incorporating novel breeding approaches into traditional breeding methods in order to increase genetic gain in a limited amount of time. He is also interested in understanding the basis of complex traits with quantitative genetic approaches. Currently, he is working on genomics assisted rice breeding for stress resilience and grain traits, which includes utilization of genomic predictions and haplotype-based breeding along with classical breeding approaches.

Dr. Chandrappa’s research during his Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research fellowship is aimed at investigating the impact of targeted recombinations over random recombinations in maximizing genetic gain in crop improvement. In this project, he is tackling significant corollary queries, including: firstly, how targeted recombinations are superior to modulated recombination frequencies across the genome in maximizing genetic gain; and secondly, how the varied number of chromosomes with targeted recombination impact the genetic gain against altered recombination frequencies across the entire genome.

Sandeep Bose

Dr. Sandeep Bose is a postdoctoral fellow at McGill University, Montreal. He obtained his B.Sc. from Gangadhar Meher University, Sambalpur, Odisha in 2011 and his master’s from the School of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad in 2014. He then received his Ph.D. in 2021 under the supervision of Prof. T. Pradeep at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Dr. Bose’s research work focuses on the synthesis of functional nanomaterials using electrospray deposition technique and their various applications. Dr. Bose has published several research articles in reputed international journals and has been granted one patent in the field of sustainable nanomaterials. He has qualified the CSIR-UGC NET and GATE examinations. His other scientific recognitions include the Best Poster Award at the 21st National Symposium in Chemistry conducted by the Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI), Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad in 2017. He also received an International Travel Support Award at IIT Madras from the Government of India to attend the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Clusters and Nanostructures, Les Diablerets, Switzerland in 2019.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the skin is a common form of skin cancer that develops in the squamous cells that make up the middle and outer layers of the skin. Untreated, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin can grow large or spread to other parts of the body, causing serious complications. However, it can be treated successfully if detected early. During his Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research fellowship, Dr. Bose is addressing this issue by developing early detection strategies for squamous cell carcinoma by using a combination of photography, mass spectrometry and machine learning.

Parvaiz Ahmad Shiekh

Dr. Parvaiz A. Shiekh is DST INSPIRE Faculty at the Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD), New Delhi. He obtained his bachelor’s in science from Sri Pratap College, University of Kashmir, Jammu & Kashmir, followed by a master’s in biotechnology from the Central University of South Bihar, Bihar. He received his Ph.D. in biological sciences and bioengineering from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) under the supervision of Prof. Ashok Kumar, where Dr. Sheikh designed and evaluated bioactive, oxygen-releasing, and antioxidant polymeric biomaterials for therapeutics and translational medicine.

Dr. Parvaiz qualified for CSIR-UGC NET JRF (2013), DBT JRF (2013), and GATE 2013. He has published several peer-reviewed articles in reputed journals, including Biomaterials, Chemical Engineering Journal, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Bioactive Materials, European Polymer Journal, and Biomacromolecules. His work has also resulted in two granted patents.

Dr. Parvaiz has received several national and international awards. He received the DST AWSAR Award from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and the ILBS-TATA Emerging Leader fellowship from the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, New Delhi. His doctoral thesis was awarded the Innovative Student Project Award 2021 at Doctoral Level by the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), New Delhi. His thesis work was also awarded the Outstanding PhD Thesis Award from IIT Kanpur and the Best PhD Thesis Award from the Society for Biomaterials and Artificial Organs, India. His other scientific achievements include IITK-SIIC Student Innovation Award (SSIA), TERMIS-AP Golden Award 2021, SYBS Young Researcher Award, SBAOI – Bajpai-Saha Student Award, Torrent-ISHR Young Scientist Award, and Dr. S K Maulik Award. He has also received international travel support from IITK, DST-SERB, and INSA/CSIR/DAE-BRNS-CCSTDS for presenting his work at international conferences.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research scholar at UCLA, Dr. Parvaiz is developing smart microneedle patches to deliver on-demand oxygen and cell instructive molecules for therapeutics and regeneration.

Ayaz Ahmad

Dr. Ayaz Ahmad is Associate Professor at the United World School of Law, Karnavati University, Gandhinagar. He began his academic career at National Law University Odisha, Cuttack and moved to Glocal University, Saharanpur to establish Glocal Law School as the founding faculty. Dr. Ahmad completed his B.A.LL.B degree from the Faculty of Law, Aligarh Muslim University and his LL.M from the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi in 2011. He received his Ph.D. in 2018 under the supervision of Dr. Yogesh Pratap Singh at Glocal University, Saharanpur.

Dr. Ahmad qualified UGC NET and Junior Research Fellowship exams in his first attempt. He was selected by the International Academy for Leadership (IAF) to participate in an international workshop on liberalism in Gummersbach, Germany. He was also selected to participate in an International Summer School: “Pluralism, Development and Social Change” in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Dr. Ahmad teaches constitutional law, jurisprudence, environmental law, and interpretation of statutes. His research interests include constitutional theory and practice, higher education, and social justice. He also seeks to understand the interplay of social, cultural, and political practices in the domain of law and justice administration. He has published several research papers, book chapters, and opinion pieces.

Dr. Ahmad’s Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research fellowship project focuses on the constitutive functions of minority rights based on religion by deconstructing the judicial discourse around it. He draws from the socio-political developments in America, which led to the judicial annulment of ‘separate but equal doctrine’ in order to secure democratic educational space.

Pallavi Rachel George

Pallavi is a Ph.D. candidate at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad where she specializes in the Public Systems Group (PSG). After three years of working as a policy researcher in the development sector, she turned to academia to follow her passion for research, teaching, and mentoring.

Pallavi’s research examines climate resilience in coastal cities with a focus on developing inclusive planning mechanisms and outcomes. Her work stands at the intersection of public policy, urban planning, and climate sciences, viewing coastal cities as socio-ecological systems with complex interdependencies that must be captured in urban climate resilience planning and policymaking. In her research, Pallavi utilizes various quantitative and qualitative methodologies, such as social network analysis, computational online text analysis, structural equation modelling, policy document analysis, and statistical methods.

As a Fulbright-Kalam Climate fellow, Pallavi is studying select coastal cities in the U.S. and India to comparatively examine resilience planning processes and outcomes to further the common goal of achieving inclusive resilience in our cities. She did her bachelor’s in economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, and her master’s in public policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. Her studies in Singapore were supported by a scholarship from the Li Ka Shing Foundation. She has presented her work at various conferences, both national and international. In her free time, Pallavi enjoys practicing Bharatnatyam, playing badminton, painting, and travelling.

Ananya Sinha

Ananya Sinha is an officer of the Indian Revenue Service. She has over five years of experience in direct tax administration, during which she has conducted tax assessments of over 300 tax entities ranging from high-net-worth individuals to multinational companies and NGOs. She has conducted tax outreach programs in her assigned jurisdiction and has also been part of tax enforcement operations. She has been responsible for the revenue administration of one of India’s oldest and largest business districts, Chandni Chowk – known for its bazaars for the last 500 years. She has also garnered field-level experience of the implementation of historic direct tax policy measures like Operation Clean Money launched after the announcement of demonetization in November, 2016.

In her current role as Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, Ms Sinha is part of the team that is responsible for policy formulation with respect to the newly launched Faceless Appeal Scheme, 2021. The scheme is a, one of its kind, global initiative designed with the objective to make tax administration more efficient, transparent, and accountable through the use of technology. Ms Sinha provides policy inputs in respect of this scheme to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)- the apex direct tax body in India.

She is an Economics Graduate and holds a Bachelor in Law from the University of Delhi. She also has a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Law from the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru.

As a Humphrey fellow, she wishes to pursue interdisciplinary engagement aiming to understand and study the organization and taxation of the real estate sector. She wishes to enrich her insights through a cross-country comparison of the taxation of the real estate sector in other developing countries. She hopes that these insights gathered during the course of the fellowship will help her in contributing to the development of a more nuanced policy that can have a significant impact in increasing the revenue generated from the real estate sector.

Ashish Tiwari

Ashish Tiwari is currently a Ph.D. candidate in electrical engineering at IIT Gandhinagar. He obtained his MTech in electrical engineering from IIT Gandhinagar in 2020. He is the recipient of the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF) 2020-2024. His research interest lies at the intersection of computer vision, computer graphics, and deep learning with a primary focus on inferring the 3D world from image(s) through photometric methods such as photometric stereo, Shape from Polarization (SfP), and photo-polarimetric stereo. He was awarded the Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship (QIF) 2023-2024 for his project proposal, “Photometric Stereo for Refractive Objects.” He was a part of the core organizing team of ICVGIP 2022, held at IIT Gandhinagar. He was also a part of the Google Research Week 2023.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research fellow at Rice University, Houston, TX, Ashish is investigating a scene’s geometry, material, and lighting through a sparse set of images captured through hand-held acquisition devices such as smartphones. Ashish enjoys teaching and has delivered plenty of invited talks on his research on photometric stereo. He likes singing, sketching, playing outdoor sports, especially cricket, and long-hour endurance runs. He also enjoys interacting with people from different regions and cultures and involves himself in community services.

Ashish Tiwari

Ashish Tiwari graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, West Bengal with a BTech and MTech in computer science and engineering in 2007. A 2012 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, Ashish has held positions of ASP Jhansi, SP rural Varanasi, SP Mirzapur, SSP Etah, SP Jaunpur, SSP Ayodhya, Founder Commandant-Special Security Force (SSF), SP Election (Uttar Pradesh), and SSP Firozabad. He was recognized as one of the 40 promising global leaders in policing by the IACP (International Association of Chiefs of Police, U.S.A.), who mentioned him in their ‘40 under 40’ list in 2022. He also received the Young Alumni Achiever award from IIT Kharagpur.

Ashish is passionate about SMART (simple and sensitive, moral and modern, accountable, reliable and responsive, trained and technical) policing. He believes in technology, innovations, and entrepreneurial government with a people-centric approach. He has launched multiple technology initiatives to realize SMART policing, which have been institutionalized at the state level and have impacted millions of citizens. He is also a member of various committees, and has been a keynote speaker at many conferences on modernizing policing using technology. To empower women, Ashish has constituted a ‘green group’ of rural women to fight problems of drugs, alcohol, gambling, and domestic violence in various districts. Leveraging technology, under ‘Operation Smile’ in west Uttar Pradesh, Ashish has reunited hundreds of missing children and victims of child trafficking with their families. His innovative strategies in community policing, countering fake news, and digital governance have received public and professional appreciation and widespread media coverage. Ashish has received numerous accolades, including the FICCI smart police officer award, the SKOCH award, the gFiles governance award, triple DGP Commendation (silver, gold, and platinum) discs, and the State Award for Best Electoral Practices.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Ashish is engaged in developing innovative solutions for smart governance and smart policing at the intersection of technology, security, and development. He intends to work at both the federal and the state level to apply new technologies in security and governance.