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Category : Faculty


Prof. Jinah Kim Collaborates on New MFA Exhibit focused on Red, Yellow and Gold in South Asian Paintings 

Prof. Jinah Kim Collaborates on New MFA Exhibit focused on Red, Yellow and Gold in South Asian Paintings 

Jinah Kim, the George P. Bickford Professor of Indian and South Asian Art, Department of History of Art and Architecture, and Professor of South Asian Studies in the Department of South Asian Studies at Harvard, runs the Mapping Color in History (MCH) Project, a digital research platform that brings together the scientific data drawn from existing and ongoing material analyses of pigments, especially in Asian painting, to enable historical research.  She has been working with the MFA from the beginning of the project and shared more in this Q&A about the collaboration and the exhibit now on display. 

Women at the Frontlines of Climate Resilience: Lessons from Koshi Province, Nepal

Women at the Frontlines of Climate Resilience: Lessons from Koshi Province, Nepal

In Nepal’s Koshi Province, climate change is worsening floods, droughts, and other threats to smallholder farmers. A new research project, “Documenting Women’s Leadership in Climate Resilience Building in Koshi Province, Nepal,” funded through the Mittal Institute’s inaugural faculty climate research grant program, seeks to capture how women-led organizations are driving grassroots adaptation efforts. Led by Vincenzo Bollettino, Director, Program on Resilient Communities at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative; Director, National NGO Program on Humanitarian Leadership and Patrick Vinck, Research Director, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative; Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the study uses interviews and focus groups to examine how women’s networks build resilience, the barriers they face, and their influence on local decision-making.

Prof. Karthik Muralidharan: Charting India’s Path to Better Governance

Prof. Karthik Muralidharan: Charting India’s Path to Better Governance

In Nepal’s Koshi Province, climate change is worsening floods, droughts, and other threats to smallholder farmers. A new research project, “Documenting Women’s Leadership in Climate Resilience Building in Koshi Province, Nepal,” funded through the Mittal Institute’s inaugural faculty climate research grant program, seeks to capture how women-led organizations are driving grassroots adaptation efforts. Led by Vincenzo Bollettino, Director, Program on Resilient Communities at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative; Director, National NGO Program on Humanitarian Leadership and Patrick Vinck, Research Director, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative; Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the study uses interviews and focus groups to examine how women’s networks build resilience, the barriers they face, and their influence on local decision-making.

Redefining Tradition: Inside the Upcoming Indian Classical Dance Conference

Redefining Tradition: Inside the Upcoming Indian Classical Dance Conference

Intersections Conference 2025: Traditions and Innovations in Indian Classical Dance is a September 27-28 conference at MIT and Harvard spotlighting U.S.-based Indian classical artists as innovators in movement, research, and pedagogy. Sessions will be centered on dialogue, debate, and professional development. The event, co-sponsored by the Mittal Institute, is organized by Prof. Haribabu Arthanari, president of MITHAS, Prof. Shriya Srinivasan, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering in the Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Dr. Joshua George, co-director of the Anubhava Dance Company. We spoke with Prof. Srinivasan, herself a professional dance artist, to learn more about the motivations behind the first-of-its-kind conference.

Monetizing Air: Sai Balakrishnan on the Cost of “Free Housing” in Mumbai

Monetizing Air: Sai Balakrishnan on the Cost of “Free Housing” in Mumbai

The State of Architecture in South Asia series opens its fall lineup with a talk exploring the costs of ‘free housing’ in Mumbai. Sai Balakrishnan, Associate Professor of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, will examine the Adani Group’s acquisition of the contract to redevelop Dharavi, often described as “Asia’s largest slum,” and the most coveted asset in the redevelopment: air. She will be joined in conversation by Rahul Mehrotra, John T. Dunlop Professor in Housing and Urbanization, Harvard Graduate School of Design.

India’s Path to a Carbon-Free Future: A Conversation with Professor Michael B. McElroy

India’s Path to a Carbon-Free Future: A Conversation with Professor Michael B. McElroy

How can India turn waste and clean energy into fuel to fight air pollution? The answer may lie in biomass, says Michael B. McElroy, the Gilbert Butler Professor of Environmental Studies in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and the Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Prof. McElroy is one of the inaugural recipients of a Mittal Institute Faculty Climate Grant for his project, “Optimizing India’s Biofuel Capacity with Green Hydrogen Penetration: A Decarbonization and Emission Reduction Strategy.”

Faculty Funding for Climate Research on South Asia

Faculty Funding for Climate Research on South Asia

The Mittal Institute is excited to announce a funding opportunity for faculty research on climate change in South Asia in the academic year 2025-2026. 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.

The Mittal Institute Presents the 2024–25 Year in Review and Arts Program Reports

The Mittal Institute Presents the 2024–25 Year in Review and Arts Program Reports

The Mittal Institute is excited to announce the release of the 2023–24 Year in Review and 2023–24 Arts Program reports. Like every year, the comprehensive Year in Review Report includes updates on all major faculty-led programs, lists awards and fellowships, highlights the work of students, student organizations, and scholars, and summarizes events and other achievements. The Arts Program Report highlights the incredible impact and accomplishments of the Mittal Institute’s various arts initiatives, which include fellowships, exhibitions, and events. Both reports offer valuable insights into the institute’s mission of connecting Harvard with South Asia. 

Teaching Through Art: How Pre-Texts is Transforming Education in India

Teaching Through Art: How Pre-Texts is Transforming Education in India

Pre-Texts is an arts-based training program that promotes literacy, critical thinking, and citizenship by having students interpret teaching through creative expression. Developed by Harvard’s Doris Sommer, Mittal Institute steering committee member and the Ira and Jewell Williams Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, it’s now active in South Asia, aligning with India’s mandate for arts-integrated education and helping teachers put policy into practice.

Reflecting on the Mittal Institute’s 15-Year Journey of Increasing Harvard’s Presence in India

Reflecting on the Mittal Institute’s 15-Year Journey of Increasing Harvard’s Presence in India

To kick off this year’s Annual Symposium focused on media, climate, and arts, the Mittal Institute hosted a special Harish C. Mahindra Evening on Thursday, April 17. The evening featured Tarun Khanna, Mittal Institute Faculty Director; William C. Kirby, former Fairbank Center Director; and Arthur Kleinman, former Asia Center director. In conversation with each other, they discussed the Mittal Institute’s 15-year journey to increase Harvard’s presence in Asia, the extraordinary leadership of Tarun Khanna, and the differences between the Mittal Institute and other international centers at Harvard.