Bio

Dr. Sameer Shah (he / him) is a John C. Garcia Professor and Assistant Professor of Climate Adaptation in the School of Environmental & Forest Sciences (SEFS) at the University of Washington. He is also an Affiliate with the UW Center for Studies in Demography in Ecology, Center for Environmental Politics, and Clean Energy Institute. Dr. Shah holds expertise in the human dimensions of climate change vulnerability and adaptation. He aims to understand how systemic marginalization, and climate-related change and disasters interact to create and amplify uneven water, food, and energy insecurities for communities on the frontlines of climate change. In particular, his research develops theoretical, conceptual, and empirical analyses of the equity, justice, and sustainability outcomes of climate adaptation and disaster response at multiple scales. Through research in South/Southeast Asia, the contiguous U.S., and Puerto Rico, he and his collaborators seek to advance interventions that reduce the disproportionately larger climate risks experienced by marginalized groups, and to shape long-term policy strategies that transform the underlying systems that heighten these impacts. At SEFS, Dr. Shah directs the WATERS Research Collaborative (Water, Adaptation & Transformation: Equity, Resilience and Sustainability). He is also a co-founder of the SOLVER (Social Vulnerability and Resilience) Research Laboratory.

Current research

Publications

Last updated September 2023

Featured Publications

Beyond Local Case Studies in Political Ecology: Spatializing Agricultural Water Infrastructure in Maharashtra Using a Critical, Multimethods, and Multiscalar Approach (Annals of the American Association of Geographers)

How do farmers adapt to agricultural risks in northern India? An agent-based exploration of alternate theories of decision-making (Journal of Environmental Management)

A “drought-free” Maharashtra? Politicising water conservation for rain-dependent agriculture (Water Alternatives)

Bio

Myriam Khalfallah completed her Ph.D. in March 2020 in Resource Management and Environmental Studies with Professor Daniel Pauly. Her research focused on the environmental, political, and socio-economic scopes of marine fisheries within the countries of the Southern Mediterranean and the Arabian Peninsula. Myriam is currently working on her postdoc at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries at UBC.

Last updated February 2022

Bio

Sandeep Pai is senior research lead with the Energy Security and Climate Change program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. His expertise spans the political economy of energy transitions, coal sector dynamics, energy access, and just transitions. Previously, Sandeep worked as an investigative journalist with leading Indian newspapers such as the Hindustan Times, writing on rural development, energy transition, and political corruption in India and South Asia. In 2016, he was awarded India’s most prestigious journalism award, the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism award, for his series of stories on corruption in state-owned enterprises. In 2018, he published his first book on global energy transitions, titled Total Transition: The Human Side of the Renewable Energy Revolution. He holds a PhD in resources, environment, and sustainability from the University of British Columbia and a joint MSc degree in environmental sciences, policy, and management from Lund University, Central European University.

Last updated March 2022