USA Fellows Year: U.S. Fellows 2026-2027

Paromita Sanyal

Prof. Paromita Sanyal is a professor of sociology at Florida State University. She holds a PhD in sociology from Harvard University, an MA from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and a BA from Presidency College, Kolkata.

Prof. Sanyal’s research lies at the intersection of economic sociology, development, deliberative democracy, and gender, with a sustained focus on how people living under conditions of structural inequality pursue agency, mobility, and collective power. Her work spans the Global South and the United States, examining microfinance and women’s empowerment in rural India, self-help groups and gender justice in India, household debt and financial precarity among working-class households in urban India, and platform labor and its consequences in India and the U.S. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in India.

She is the author/co-author of several books with Cambridge University Press: Credit to Capabilities: A Sociological Study of Microcredit Groups in India (2014), which won the American Sociological Association’s Outstanding Book Award in the Sociology of Development category; Oral Democracy: Deliberation in Indian Village Assemblies (2019); and Revolution by Stealth: How Women’s Groups Catalyzed a Cultural Transformation in Bihar. Another book, Rethinking Credit: Shaping Solutions to Social Problems, is currently under preparation.

Prof. Sanyal has held faculty positions at Cornell University and Wesleyan University, and has collaborated on research funded by the Social Science Research Council, the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation, and the Gates Foundation, among others. For over a decade, she was a research consultant to the World Bank’s Development Research Group. She has also presented her research at the United Nations, the World Bank, and major international scholarly venues.

Prof. Sanyal’s Fulbright-Nehru project is investigating how low-income communities in India are experiencing the digital transformation of finance, with the focus being on digital payment systems and AI-enabled credit. India, the world’s fastest-growing fintech market, offers a critical site for understanding the opportunities and challenges of technology-driven financial inclusion. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews, the study is examining how low-income publics adopt, adapt to, or resist digital financial tools, and how their responses are shaped by social, infrastructural, and moral–economic contexts. The research is bridging scholarship on financial practices and technological innovation, while informing policy by highlighting barriers to adoption, risks of exclusion, and strategies for ethical fintech design.

Sindhuja Sankaran

Dr. Sindhuja Sankaran is a professor in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at Washington State University (WSU). Her research is in the nascent and evolving field of phenomics, which involves the design, development, integration, testing, and deployment of a range of cutting-edge sensor technologies to advance crop phenotype monitoring – an important component of plant breeding, crop science, and precision agriculture research and applications. The sensor technologies are used for automated, non-invasive, rapid, and continuous monitoring of plant responses to the environment and abiotic and biotic stressors on a scale previously unattainable, and contribute to addressing pressing challenges in global food security and sustainable agriculture.

Dr. Sankaran has published over 110 peer-reviewed articles and has given over 95 outreach talks. She has been successful in securing internal and external competitive grants worth USD 33 million (with USD 4.2 million going into her program), mostly from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) programs. She leads the USDA-NIFA Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates project on research and extension partnership for accelerated technology adoption and resilient agricultural systems.

Dr. Sankaran is an active member of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), the National Association of Plant Breeders (NAPB), and the North American Plant Phenotyping Network (NAPPN). She is an associate Editor of the Plant Phenome Journal and Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. She is a recipient of the Early Career Excellence Award from the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences at WSU, the Outstanding Associate Editor award from ASABE’s Plant Phenome Journal, an ASABE Leadership Citation, and an International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) Medal, among others.

Phenomics refers to multidimensional phenotyping through sensing and automation to facilitate objective and quantitative assessment of crop responses. This aids in the critical process used for selecting stress-tolerant, high-performing crop varieties, cultivars, and hybrids in crop breeding programs, which is one of the key strategies in addressing issues related to food security. Dr. Sankaran’s Fulbright-Nehru project is developing phenomics-enabled decision support tools for understanding plant physiology in order to enhance the development of germplasms. Her project in India of facilitating the development and applications of phenomics tools will also benefit crop breeding programs in the U.S. and worldwide.

Lenore Rinder

Ms. Lenore Rinder is an independent filmmaker based in the United States. She holds an MFA degree in film/painting from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has worked as a photojournalist for newspapers in Wisconsin and Idaho, and as a staff photographer for the Ballet Folk of Moscow, a touring dance company based in Idaho. She has taught film, animation, and painting at UW-Milwaukee, and was also a producer-director with Time Warner Cable’s Community Television. For 12 years, she worked as a visual communications instructor for incarcerated teenagers at the Ethan Allen School for Boys, through Wisconsin’s Department of Corrections.

In 2013, fueled by her passion for wildlife conservation, she began to make documentaries on the subject, with a focus on the marginalized indigenous communities in India. Using the video as a lens to examine the impact of environmental degradation and animal extinction on humans, she has been exploring the intersection between nature conservation and social justice issues. Her short films feature: a covert cottage industry of fake tiger skin artisans; poachers finding alternative income catching and releasing urban monkeys; a family-run craft cooperative adjacent to a tiger park in Rajasthan; and an elephant sanctuary camp in Dubare, Karnataka. As a visual artist who paints and creates animation, Ms. Lenore weaves digital images into her live action documentary footage.

Her films have been screened at several international festivals, such as Ethnografilm Paris, the Athvikvaruni International Film Festival in Tamil Nadu, and the Rome Prisma Independent Film Awards. Her film, Kagaraja, was a winner at the Tagore International Film Festival, Bolpur, India, in 2021. Ms. Lenore has received three grants from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Mary L. Nohl Fund. In 2019, the Indian Institute of World Culture invited her to screen her documentary, People of the Wild Tiger. In 2025, her four documentaries had their world premiere in Bengaluru.

For her Fulbright-Nehru project, Ms. Lenore is making a documentary titled “Kids for Tigers, Designing Their Future”. That will be the culmination of 13 years of research, working with nature guides, villagers, and educators. Through the project, she is also continuing to film the children who are part of an educational program called Kids for Tigers. Besides, she is engaging with students at the Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, where she is facilitating communication between Indian and American students on art, conservation, and culture.

James Pascoe

Prof. James Pascoe is an assistant professor of mathematics at Drexel University, working in various areas of mathematics. He graduated from the University of California, San Diego, under the guidance of Prof. Jim Agler in 2015. Prof. Pascoe’s international collaborations span the globe and a variety of mathematical topics, all united by the theme of using functional analysis to explore the semantic meaning of mathematics through a variety of avatars of mathematics. His existing collaborations with junior mathematicians in India include those with Sujit Sakharam Damase, Chandan Pradhan, and Nitin Tomar.

For his Fulbright-Nehru project, Prof. Pascoe is working with researchers at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, with a focus on creating material links between the operator theory research communities in the United States and India. As part of the project, Prof. Pascoe, inspired by the great Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdős, is visiting various institutes in India and speaking on topics in modern operator theory, while also helping junior mathematicians in establishing their research programs and connections with the global community.

Gita Pai

Dr. Gita Pai is a professor of history and the director of the International & Global Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UWL). Since joining the UWL faculty in 2010 after her MA and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, she has specialized as a cultural historian of early modern to modern South Asia, focusing on south-eastern India (present-day Tamil Nadu). Her research, supported by the Fulbright-Hays Program, the Townsend Center for the Humanities at UC Berkeley, the American Association of University Women, and UWL Faculty Research Grants, culminated in her first book, Architecture of Sovereignty: Stone Bodies, Colonial Gazes, and Living Gods in South India (Cambridge University Press, 2023). This work traces the historical transformations of a prominent temple site in Madurai through the lenses of architecture, sovereignty, visual culture, ritual practice, gender, and cultural tourism.

During her current Fulbright-Nehru tenure, Dr. Pai is advancing her book-in-progress, In Pursuit of Dancing Śiva: The History of India’s Iconic Cultural Treasure. Her research is examining the journey of Śiva Naṭarāja (Lord of Dance), a pinnacle of South Asian sculpture, from being a medieval Tamil devotional object to a centerpiece of contemporary restitution disputes. The project is also analyzing the icon’s evolution into a global symbol of Indian and Hindu identity. Dr. Pai is a past recipient of fellowships from the American Institute of Indian Studies and the Fulbright-Nehru Program.

Tanushree Mitra

Dr. Tanushree Mitra is an associate professor at the University of Washington’s Information School, where she leads the Social Computing and Algorithmic Experiences (SCALE) lab group. Her research focus is on human-centered AI and responsible AI wherein she combines computational techniques, AI, natural language processing (NLP), and social science principles to study the complex social processes underlying human–human and human–computer interactions in large-scale online systems. As an interdisciplinary scholar, she draws from a range of methods from the fields of human–computer interactions, large-scale data analytics, machine learning, and AI. Her work consistently centers human impact, interpretability, and the translation of research into real-world governance and safety solutions. Dr. Mitra’s research has been recognized through multiple honors, including an NSF-CAREER, an NSF-CRII, an early career ONR-YIP, and an Adamic-Glance Distinguished Young Researcher awards, along with several best paper awards. She received her PhD in computer science from Georgia Tech’s School of Interactive Computing.

Dr. Mitra’s Fulbright-Nehru project is examining how generative AI systems, such as large language and text-to-image models, reproduce sociocultural biases and misalignments, especially in high-stakes domains in Global South contexts. In partnership with the host institution, the project is developing methodologies to audit AI systems for cultural risks, and is building mixed-initiative workflows by combining machine intelligence, crowd workers, and experts to evaluate those risks at scale. The expected outcomes include new sociocultural AI audit frameworks, datasets, and evaluation metrics, culturally grounded AI capabilities, scalable annotation systems, peer-reviewed research, and strengthened international collaborations focused on responsible, equitable, and globally inclusive AI development.

Srikanta Mishra

“Blindness separates people from things; deafness separates people from people.” — Helen Keller

What if you struggle to follow conversations in a noisy restaurant or classroom, yet a hearing test tells you your hearing is “normal”? Why do some people hear effortlessly while others struggle long before any obvious hearing loss appears? These and many other questions that affect millions of people are at the center of Dr. Srikanta Mishra’s research.

Dr. Mishra is an audiologist, auditory neuroscientist, and educator who studies the earliest signs of hearing changes that may occur years before they become visible on standard hearing tests. He completed his schooling from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, a unique residential public school system designed to nurture talented students from diverse and often underserved communities. This early educational experience shaped his appreciation for opportunity, education, and the importance of expanding access across backgrounds. He later pursued higher education in India, completed doctoral training in the UK, and continued his research career in the U.S., giving him an international perspective on science, hearing healthcare, and education. He is currently a tenured associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

His research explores why some individuals, children and adults alike, experience listening difficulties despite appearing to have “normal” hearing. By combining neuroscience, clinical science, engineering, and computational approaches, Dr. Mishra seeks to identify subtle changes in the auditory system at an early stage; his endeavor is to improve how hearing problems are detected and treated. His work aims to move hearing healthcare beyond simply asking whether someone can hear sounds, toward understanding how people function in real-world environments. Supported by research funding from the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Mishra is also committed to mentoring future scientists and building international collaborations.

Dr. Mishra’s Fulbright-Nehru research project is addressing a growing global health challenge at the intersection of hearing and brain health. Today, approximately 1.5 billion people worldwide live with hearing loss, and more than 55 million people live with dementia. The project is focusing on hearing loss, one of the largest modifiable risk factors for dementia, and is examining how social and economic inequalities shape these conditions in low- and middle-income countries. Working with the Centre for Brain Research at the Indian Institute of Science, Dr. Mishra aims to improve early identification and intervention strategies that may help people maintain healthier hearing, healthier brains, and better quality of life as they age.

Tracy Krumm

Ms. Tracy Krumm is director for artistic advancement at the Textile Center of Minnesota, where she also serves as curator, McKnight Fellowship director, and program consultant. An artist and educator with more than 35 years of experience, she has exhibited, taught, and lectured extensively. Her leadership and administrative work spans more than two decades of teaching, mentorship, and committee service, including appointments as visiting assistant professor at North Carolina State University’s art and design program and as assistant professor of fiber art at Kansas City Art Institute. She has served as a visiting artist and lecturer at over 30 institutions nationwide, leading workshops and critiques for college students, lifelong learners, and practicing artists in fiber art and textile traditions. Her honors include a McKnight Visual Artist Fellowship, nominations for both USA Artist and the Tiffany Foundation Biennial awards, two International Folk Art Foundation project grants, and two Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative grants.

Her work has been included in the International Triennial of Tapestry, the Cheongju Craft Biennale, the Betonac Prize, and Young Americans in New York, as well as in more than 200 other exhibitions around the world. In 2012, the National Museum of Women in the Arts named her a Woman to Watch. Her work has also been featured in publications like the New York Times, Metalsmith, Sculpture, American Craft, and Surface Design Journal, as well as in the books, Textiles: The Art of Mankind (Thames & Hudson, 2012) and Cloth 100 Artists (Abrams, 2025).

Ms. Krumm’s work is part of the collections of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts (Houston), the Denver Art Museum, Kansas State University, Bloomingdale’s, the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti, the New Mexico Museum of Art, the Ford Motor Company, and the Heising-Simons Foundation.

Ms. Krumm’s Fulbright-Nehru project is developing a collaborative model of co-creation between U.S. and Indian artists through Gujarat’s textile traditions – ajrakh, bandhani, weaving, and embroidery. Moving beyond transactional designer–artisan relationships, it is emphasizing upon shared authorship, fair trade, and artisan agency. The project, through studio exchange, reciprocal teaching, and fieldwork with the Khatri and Vankar communities, as well as with nomadic communities, is expected to generate new textile vocabularies, strengthen artisan visibility, and support sustainable livelihoods. The outcomes of the project – collaborative works, exhibitions, and publications – will extend impact across artistic and academic communities, thereby offering a replicable framework for equitable cross-cultural collaboration.

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.

Harjant Gill

Dr. Harjant Gill is a professor of anthropology at Towson University and an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose work bridges ethnography, visual storytelling, and public scholarship. His research and creative practice explore masculinity, migration, media, religion, and popular culture in South Asia and its diasporas, with a particular focus on Punjab and Sikh communities. Through film and writing, he examines how intimate lives are shaped by patriarchy, nationalism, violence, and transnational mobility. Dr. Gill is the director of the internationally recognized documentary films Roots of Love, Mardistan/Macholand, and Sent Away Boys. His work has been broadcast on the BBC, PBS, and India’s Doordarshan, and screened widely at universities, film festivals, and public forums around the world. His scholarship has appeared in leading journals, including American Anthropologist, Ethnography, and Visual Anthropology Review. Dr. Gill’s forthcoming book, Coming of Age in Macholand (University of Chicago Press), offers a deeply personal ethnographic exploration of patriarchy, masculinity, violence, and migration in the Indian state of Punjab. He has received fellowships and awards from the American Institute of Indian Studies, the United States-India Educational Foundation, the Point Foundation, and the Wenner-Gren, Whiting, and Woodrow Wilson foundations. Born in Chandigarh, India, he now lives in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Gill’s Fulbright-Nehru project is exploring the everyday aesthetics of security in contemporary urban life. Through images, objects, and built environments, it is examining how barriers, checkpoints, cameras, fences, lighting, and architectural details quietly shape public space and social experience. The project is attending to the textures, moods, and visual languages of protection that have become ordinary and familiar. It is studying how security is designed and displayed to be absorbed into daily routines, thereby influencing movement, comfort, aspiration, and belonging. The project is also tracing how ideas of safety become materialized in subtle visual forms that structure the atmosphere and appearance of everyday life.