Aditya Kumar Anand is the Mittal Institute India Fellow 2025-26. During his fellowship, he is working with S. V. Subramanian, Professor of Population Health and Geography in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University. His project, “Integrated Climate-Responsive Multi-Hazard and Livelihood Resilience Assessment in the Bhilangana River Basin, Garhwal Himalayas,” examines how climate change is reshaping multi-hazard risks and livelihood vulnerability in the Bhilangana River Basin. The study analyzes long-term climate trends and extremes using downscaled CMIP6 models and maps landslides, flash floods, and cascading hazards through geospatial and machine-learning techniques. By integrating hazard maps with a Livelihood Vulnerability Index, the project identifies basin-wide risk hotspots. Anand also works with local communities to co-develop adaptation strategies using the SITS-based Cascading Adaptation Framework and translates findings into decision-support tools and policy-relevant outputs.
Aditya completed his PhD from the Department of Earth Sciences, IIT Roorkee, under Professor Sarada Prasad Pradhan. His doctoral research, titled “Assessment of Bank Failure in the Brahmani River, Odisha Using River Morphodynamics, Flood Assessment and Numerical Modelling Approaches,” investigated the processes controlling riverbank instability in a large alluvial river system. The study integrated multi-temporal satellite imagery to analyze channel migration and planform changes, flood susceptibility assessment, and detailed geotechnical characterization of riverbank materials. Numerical models were used to simulate flow dynamics and bank stability under varying discharge conditions. By linking river morphodynamic behaviour with flood hazards and subsurface properties, the research provides a comprehensive framework for understanding bank erosion mechanisms and supporting risk-informed river management and flood mitigation planning. Anand has extensive research experience, including roles as Junior Research Fellow at IIT Roorkee, Senior Project Associate at IIT Kanpur, and Project Assistant at CSIR–Central Road Research Institute. Before joining the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, he was a Project Scientist Level II at the National Institute of Disaster Management, Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India. He holds an MSc in Geology from Hansraj College, University of Delhi, and a BSc (Hons.) in Geology from Ram Lal Anand College, University of Delhi.
