Prof. Bidyananda Maibam has a PhD from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. He is a Professor at the Department of Earth Sciences, Manipur University. He was a recipient of the BOYSCAST Fellowship sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India to conduct collaborative research at the University of Mainz, Germany. He applies elemental and isotopic compositions of rocks and zircons (U-Pb, Lu-Hf, and O) to study the formation and evolution of Archean, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic rocks in India.
As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Prof. Maibam is deciphering which geodynamic processes predominated in the formation of the earliest continental crust. Due to the limited extent of the early rock record, it remains unclear whether plate tectonics was operative throughout Earth’s history or if there were major changes in the dominant mechanisms of continental crust formation over time. He is characterizing the geochemistry of Paleo-Mesoarchean zircons of the Singhbhum craton to provide constraints for a tectonic evolutionary model for this region, with broad-scale implications for how continents were formed on early Earth.
Archives: Meet Our India Fulbrighters
Barani Kanth Devarajan
Prof. Barani Kanth Devarajan is a Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology at Pondicherry University, India, where he has been a founding faculty member since 2007. A recipient of the UGC Raman Postdoctoral Fellowship at Kent State University, USA, his expertise centers on cross-cultural quantitative research methods, psychometrics, youth mental health, and family relationships. He has led and collaborated on several international research projects involving scholars from the United States and Europe, with publications in leading peer-reviewed journals.
In addition to his academic contributions, Prof. Devarajan coordinates student mental health and counseling initiatives and professional training programs promoting accessible and culturally sensitive psychological support systems in higher education. He received the Certificate of Merit for Teaching from Pondicherry University for seven academic years.
As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Prof. Devarajan is examining the cultural and psychological factors influencing student mental health across India and the United States, as well as the structure, challenges, and best practices of campus mental health services. The project aims to support the development of culturally sensitive and effective campus mental health systems in India.
Arumugam Kumaresan
Dr. Arumugam Kumaresan is an ICAR National Fellow and Principal Scientist at the ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Southern Regional Station, Bengaluru, India. With more than two decades’ experience in animal reproduction research, he has established himself as a key scientist in the fields of semen biology, male fertility and reproductive biotechnology. He earned his PhD in veterinary gynecology and obstetrics from the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, India. He completed postdoctoral training at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, and the University of Guelph, Canada.
Dr. Kumaresan has led over 30 nationally and internationally funded research projects. His pioneering work has advanced understanding of sperm biology and fertility. Notably, he identified key sperm biomarkers associated with bull fertility and developed a diagnostic kit for fertility prediction. He has authored over 310 peer-reviewed publications and has mentored more than 40 postgraduate and doctoral students. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the National Academy of Dairy Sciences and serves on the editorial boards of several international journals. His scientific contributions have earned global recognition through inclusion in Stanford University and Elsevier/Stanford’s World’s Top 2% Scientists from 2021 to 2025.
As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Kumaresan is advancing research on biomarker-based sperm phenotyping, next-generation image-based flow cytometry, and genome-to-phenome approaches to identify genetic determinants of male fertility. His work aims to develop a simple, non-invasive diagnostic platform for infertility assessment.
Aleena Manoharan
Dr. Aleena Manoharan is Associate Professor at the Department of English, CMS College Kottayam, Kerala, where she teaches courses on literary theory, literary criticism, American and European literatures. She holds a PhD in English from the University of Madras and specializes in ecocriticism, with particular focus on the concept of bioregion as an ecocritical tool to analyze literary texts. She is the author of the book Bioregion and Indigeneity in Literary Imagination (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2023) and has significant academic publications to her credit. She has delivered several keynote lectures and plenary talks on ecocriticism for seminars and has presented papers at national and international conferences, both in India and abroad.
As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Manoharan is continuing to focus on bioregional studies in the wake of present environmental and ecological crises. Her project focuses on understanding the intersections between the land-based theories, bioregion and tinai, and their implications in ecocritical pedagogy and research. Dr. Manoharan will also examine the pedagogical strategies required to effectively facilitate teaching and research practices based on these theories, particularly their application to the study of indigenous literatures.
Reetu Sogani
Dr. Reetu Sogani is a development practitioner, researcher, and academician working on the protection, strengthening and enhancement of cultural and biological diversity, its integration to address food and nutrition security and build climate resilience in the Himalayas as well as in other parts of India, for over 27 years. She is a PhD in Environmental Management from R.A. Podar Institute of Management, Jaipur.
Dr. Sogani has conceptualized, implemented, and coordinated several projects at the grassroots and evaluated several developmental projects funded by reputed donor agencies such as IFAD, IRMA, and PAC on sustainable agriculture, food and nutrition security, and climate resilience. Since 2012, she has been Program Director, Deodar Himalaya Project on Eco-health, Chintan International Trust (India), Uttarakhand. She is also a resource person for faculty in institutions across the country. She has served in an advisory capacity with reputed institutions such as Afromontane Research Unit, the University of the Free State, IDS, Sussex. She has been an Action Researcher in Uttarakhand with the University of East Anglia, UK. She has authored several research papers and chapters in reputed publications. She has delivered talks on several national and international forums in Europe, North America, Latin America and Africa.
As a Fulbright Scholar-In-Residence, Dr. Sogani will be teaching classes on environmental ethics, international conservation strategies and food policy and politics at The Clark Family School of Environment and Sustainability, Western Colorado University. She will also be engaged in enhancing and expanding existing international programming and assist in integrating international dimensions within existing course offerings.
Nagamani Gnaneswaran
Dr. G. Nagamani is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at The Gandhigram Rural Institute. She specializes in passivity analysis, neural networks, control theory and fractional calculus. She earned her PhD in mathematics from the same institution for her highly commended thesis on passivity analysis of neural networks with time-varying delays. Her research focuses on nonlinear dynamical systems, fuzzy systems, delayed neural networks and fractional-order models.
Dr. Nagamani has served in academic and research positions for over two decades, including DST-funded Junior and Senior Research Fellowships, and guides doctoral research. Eight PhD scholars have graduated, and she is currently guiding five. Her contributions include numerous publications, international collaborations, editorial activities, and reviewer roles for various journals published by Elsevier, Springer, Taylor & Francis, Wiley, and IEEE (https://scholar.google.com/GN).
Dr. Nagamani has completed funded research projects supported by the University Grants Commission, National Board for Higher Mathematics, and Science and Engineering Research Board. Her distinctions include the Tamil Nadu Young Women Scientist Award, the Overseas Research Professor Fellowship at Kunsan National University, South Korea, and the Best Researcher Award 2024 from The Gandhigram Rural Institute. She has organized several international conferences and workshops in mathematical modelling, machine learning, quantum computing, applied mathematics and has delivered more than 50 invited lectures at national and international academic forums.
As a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. Nagamani will be teaching a course on advanced computational intelligence and engaging with the broader academic community in research-oriented projects on computational intelligence.
Kamlesh Kumar Dubey
Dr. Kamlesh Kumar Dubey is a mathematician, researcher, and academic administrator with over 19 years of experience in higher education and university administration. He completed his B.Sc. in 1999 and M.Sc. in 2002 at the University of Allahabad.
Dr. Dubey earned a PhD from Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh in 2006. His interests include differential geometry, mathematical modelling, cryptography, modern algebra, and linear algebra application to blockchain, cryptocurrency, network security, cyber security and quantum cryptography. Dr. Dubey has published more than 30 research papers and holds 10 patents. He has authored three books and a book chapter. Five scholars have completed their PhD under his supervision, and three are currently pursuing it.
Dr. Dubey has been a Professor in the Department of Applied Sciences and Humanities at Invertis University, Bareilly from 2007. . Dr. Dubey has been working as Associate Professor at the Uttar Pradesh State Institute of Forensic Science, Lucknow, since 2025.
Dr. Dubey is a life member of the Indian Science Congress and the International Academy of Physical Sciences. He has organized conferences, Faculty development programs (FDP) and government funded INSPIRE programs. His achievements include the Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Excellence Award 2025 and the Best Paper Award 2023 from Engineered Science Publisher, USA.
As a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. Dubey will be teaching predictive analytics, business analytics, descriptive analytics and data mining and engaging with the broader community through interactive projects.
Wairokpam Yaiphaba Chenglei
Dr. Wairokpam Yaiphaba Chenglei is an Assistant Professor of English at Pravabati College, Manipur. He earned his BA from Manipur University, completed his MA in English from IGNOU, New Delhi, and received his PhD in English from Manipur University in 2024. He is now serving as an ICSSR Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of English & Cultural Studies, Manipur University, Imphal for the period 2024-26. His research focuses on indigenous folklore, oral traditions, cultural identity, eco-criticism, and comparative cultural studies. He has authored books and published several scholarly articles in reputed journals.
As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Chenglei is undertaking a comparative philosophical study of the Meitei festival Lai Haraoba and the Cherokee Green Corn Ceremony as living expressions of indigenous metaphysics and embodied knowledge. His project examines how ritual, myth, and performance preserve shared values of kinship, sacred ecology, gratitude, and cultural resilience. Through this fellowship, he aims to contribute to global scholarship on indigenous philosophy and promote cross-cultural dialogue on traditional knowledge systems.
Tanu Gupta
Dr. Tanu Gupta is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Southampton Delhi (UoSD), Gurugram. Before joining UoSD, she was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi. She earned her BA (Hons) in economics from the University of Delhi and her MA in economics from the Delhi School of Economics. She received her PhD in economics from the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai. She was a Visiting PhD Scholar at UNU-WIDER, Helsinki, from September to November 2021, and is an active member of Environment for Development (EfD).
Dr. Gupta’s research is primarily in development economics, with a focus on environment, labor, and identity. She has published in reputed international journals and has received several research grants including J-PAL and ICIMOD. In addition to academic publications, she writes for policy platforms such as IndiaSpend, Policy Edge, and Ideas for India to reach a wider policy audience.
As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Gupta is studying household demand for electric stoves and how demand responds to various subsidy and price levels. The project will examine whether access to electric cooking reduces reliance on traditional solid fuels and lowers household air pollution and related health risks.
Sweta Sen
Dr. Sweta Sen is an Assistant Professor at the Madras School of Economics (MSE), Chennai. She pursued BSc in economics (Hons) from Serampore College, affiliated with the University of Calcutta in 2011, and an MSc in economics specializing in applied econometrics, environmental economics, and international economics from University of Calcutta in 2013. She was awarded an MS by Research in 2016 and a PhD in Economics in 2023, both from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. Before joining MSE, she was Senior Researcher at the Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi.
Dr. Sen’s research lies at the intersection of climate change impacts, disaster risk reduction, household behavior under uncertainty, and sustainable development. She has published extensively in major Scopus-indexed international journals. She has worked as a consultant in the World Bank on quantifying renewable energy drivers across Indian states, and is currently the Co-Project Director of an ICSSR longitudinal study on post-tsunami housing reconstruction and livelihood revitalization along India’s vulnerable coastlines. Dr Sen has qualified in the UGC NET examination, is a recipient of the Berkner Fellowship from the American Geophysical Union and a SANDEE Fellow. She is also actively engaged in student mentorship.
As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Sen is investigating how geo-climatic risks — particularly cyclonic shocks and extreme weather events — shape household time use decisions. During her fellowship, she aims to apply geo-spatial techniques and remote-sensing data to economic outcomes and generate policy-relevant insights for climate adaptation planning in both developing and developed country contexts.