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Category : Climate


Rethinking India’s Digital Health Ecosystem: An Update on the Work of the India Digital Health Net

Rethinking India’s Digital Health Ecosystem: An Update on the Work of the India Digital Health Net

For the past seven years, the India Digital Health Net (IDHN)— an interdisciplinary team of experts from medicine, computer science, data science, and law – has contributed to shaping India’s evolving digital health ecosystem. This year, IDHN achieved two significant milestones. In the essay below, Dr. Verghese Thomas, Assistant Professor of Research in the Division of Medical Informatics at St. John’s Research Institute and Associate of the Mittal Institute, provides further insights.

Announcing the Inaugural Recipients of the Mittal Institute Faculty Climate Research Grants

Announcing the Inaugural Recipients of the Mittal Institute Faculty Climate Research Grants

The Mittal Institute is pleased to announce its first recipients of the Faculty Climate Research Grants. These grants are designed to foster deeper scholarly engagement on climate change, catalyze the creation of new knowledge, and contribute to the development of sustainable solutions across South Asia. Projects focused on three main research categories: energy transition and energy policy; food systems, agriculture, and land use; and law and policy for climate transition and adaptation.

Climate Insights: Book Recommendations from Harvard Faculty

Climate Insights: Book Recommendations from Harvard Faculty

Over the last few weeks, 17 Harvard faculty have joined the Mittal Institute Climate Platform as new affiliates, greatly increasing the platform’s reach and expertise. Now, these affiliates are sharing some of their top climate reads. Stay informed on the climate crisis, its global impacts, and some meaningful actions you can take. Enjoy the list!

Mittal Institute Hosts Faculty Dialogues Centered on Climate Change in South Asia

Mittal Institute Hosts Faculty Dialogues Centered on Climate Change in South Asia

In the fall semester of 2024, the Mittal Institute started hosting Climate Dialogues, a series of closed-door events centering South Asia in the climate change conversation. The talks feature Harvard faculty speakers from across the University in an informal environment that includes a dinner. They enable faculty, as well as affiliates of the Mittal Institute Climate Platform, to engage in interdisciplinary dialogues and forge connections and research collaborations. 

The Impact of Climate Change on Child Development: A Spotlight on the Work of Mittal Institute Associate Fatima Zahra

The Impact of Climate Change on Child Development: A Spotlight on the Work of Mittal Institute Associate Fatima Zahra

Dr. Fatima Zahra, a Mittal Institute Associate, spearheads research at the intersection of human development, labor markets, and artificial intelligence with a focus on the future of learning and work. Several of her projects look at Bangladesh, where she is originally from, including her studies on how climate change impacts child development and what employment barriers Rohingya fathers face in refugee camps. The Mittal Institute spoke with her about her motivation and approach to study climate change in Bangladesh and how socioeconomic and political factors are essential to understanding its impacts.

The 1970 Bhola Cyclone and the Birth of Bangladesh

The 1970 Bhola Cyclone and the Birth of Bangladesh

In 1970, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) was hit by a cyclone that killed 300,000 to 500,000 people. Prof. Mushfiq Mobarak, Yale University, and Prof. Sultan Mehmood, New Economic School of Moscow, provide empirical evidence that the cyclone’s devastation and the Pakistani government’s “callous response” to it were instrumental in galvanizing support for an independence movement. The two authors share their work in this Q+A ahead of a November 15 Joint Seminar on South Asian Politics.

Waste Pickers and Methane Emissions

Waste Pickers and Methane Emissions

In an essay for the 1800 Histories project based at the Harvard Center for History and Economics, which explores the local conditions at key sites that play a disproportionate role in methane emissions, WIEGO founder and Mittal Institute Steering Committee member Martha Chen writes about the impact waste pickers have on methane emissions in Delhi, India.

NEW: Mittal Institute Launches Climate Fellowship for Postdoctoral Scholars

NEW: Mittal Institute Launches Climate Fellowship for Postdoctoral Scholars

The Mittal Institute is pleased to offer a new fellowship for post-doctoral scholars researching the impacts of climate change on South Asia. The Mittal Family Climate Fellowship aims to support innovative research projects that explore how climate change has influenced the region’s past, is shaping its present, and will affect its future. The application window for Academic Year 2025/2026 is open and will close on December 10, 2024.

Just announced: New Faculty Grants for Climate Research on South Asia

Just announced: New Faculty Grants for Climate Research on South Asia

The Mittal Institute is excited to announce a new funding opportunity for faculty research on climate change in South Asia in the academic year 2024-2025. Harvard faculty members from any Harvard School are invited to propose impactful climate research projects or interdisciplinary collaboration through workshops that address the critical challenges of climate change in the region.