Himanshu Pathak

PhD Student

Contact Details

Website: ramankuttylab.com/people.html /

Bio

Himanshu is a PhD student in the Land Use and Global Environment (LUGE) Lab and is supervised by Prof. Navin Ramankutty. His research is aimed at developing a deeper understanding of the mechanisms and processes through which climatic parameters affect crop yields. This is critical for accurately estimating the impacts of climate change on agriculture and in identifying suitable adaptation strategy specific to different crops and regions. He is also interested in examining how successful strategies can be transferred and implemented in other regions facing similar climate challenges.

Prior to joining IRES, Himanshu completed his MSc in climate change and sustainability studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). He has more than seven years of research experience. He worked as a program manager in the south Asia office of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), based in New Delhi. His work at IFPRI focused on analysing the shifting trends of agricultural public expenditure in India and its impact on a range of outcome indicators—diversification, wages, farm incomes, and poverty. He also managed a project on upscaling climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) group of countries.

In his previous avatar, Himanshu was a mining engineer, working in a coal mine in Chhattisgarh in central India. When not working, he is found running on the trails, hooked up to a podcast, or reading a book.

Featured Publications

Pathak, H., Kumar, A., and Tripathi, G. (2024); Public expenditure in agriculture: Unmasking the real trends? Economic & Political Weekly. 59(1): 15-21.https://www.epw.in/journal/2024/1/commentary/public-expenditure-agriculture.html

Tripathi, G., Pathak, H., Kumar, A. (2021). Impacts of COVID-19-Induced National Lockdown on Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods in India: A Macro Perspective. Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics. 76(3): 333-351. https://isaeindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/01-0101-Gaurav-Tripathi-with-DOI_compressed.pdf

Canada must boost climate change targets: report

Sustainability Scholars Conference | Advancing Urban Sustainability 2024 | Oct 2 1pm-5pm

What happens when you give students real-world sustainability problems to solve?

UBC Sustainability Scholars are helping to generate real change in the world. Join us on Wednesday, October 2 to learn more about the ways in which these students are supporting our local governments and institutions to future-proof our people, our cities, and our urban spaces.

This afternoon of engaged discussion will cover a diverse range of applied sustainability projects produced by UBC graduate students under the mentorship of community partners including the City of Vancouver, Metro Vancouver, TransLink, local health authorities, local governments, various NGOs and more.

Scholars will present their projects in concurrent themed panel sessions throughout the afternoon. Panels will be moderated by experts from UBC and Sustainability Scholars Program partners.

Molly Zhang

PhD Student

Contact Details

molly[dot]zhang[at]ubc.ca

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mollyzhangprofile/

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=LRJpc6gAAAAJ&hl=en

Research Interests

Social-ecological Analysis; Food Sovereignty; Social Network Analysis; Resilience; Traditional Ecological Knowledge; Small-scale Agriculture; Climate Change; Sustainability; Biodiversity Conservation

Bio

Molly Zhang is a PhD student at the Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability (IRES) at the University of British Columbia (UBC), under the supervision of Professor Terry Sunderland in UBC Forestry. Her research focuses on the potential of native edible plants, aiming to understand the socio-ecological outcomes of integrating Indigenous food plants and identifying the factors that facilitate or limit their incorporation into food systems.

Molly holds a B.Sc. in Forestry from UBC and an M.Sc. in Environmental Science from the University of Cologne, Germany. Her previous research explored the challenges and opportunities of Indigenous edible plants in the townships of Cape Town, South Africa, from the perspective of smallholder farmers.

She is a recipient of UBC Four Year Fellowship (4YF), President’s Academic Excellence Initiative PhD Award, BiPOC Graduate Excellence Award, and the Faculty of Science Graduate Award. In addition to her research, Molly is an active Environmental Scientist working with different levels of government in BC.

Outside of work, Molly enjoys writing, dancing, and outdoor activities. When she’s not working, you can often find her writing blog posts, dancing salsa rueda, or camping by a river.

Featured Publications

Zhang M, Dannenberg P. Opportunities and Challenges of Indigenous Food Plant Farmers in Integrating into Agri-Food Value Chains in Cape Town. Land. 2022; 11(12):2267. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11122267

Understanding hearts and minds is key to buy-in for federal climate policy

Finalists for 2025 Indianapolis Prize helping protect parrots, manatees, jaguars and more

Annabel Van Eeten

MSc Student

Contact Details

at [dot] vaneeten [at] outlook [dot] com

Bio

Annabel is an MSc student in the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, co-supervised by Dr. Stephanie Chang and Dr. Kees Lokman. Her research interests are broadly centered on the role and effectiveness of nature-based solutions in enhancing disaster resilience and reducing community vulnerability, particularly in urban and coastal environments.

Prior to UBC, Annabel completed a BSc in Geography at Loughborough University in the UK. Her undergraduate dissertation investigated the synergy between the nocturnal urban heat island effect and nighttime heatwaves across different local climate zones in London.

In her free time, you will often find Annabel playing sports, exploring the outdoors, trying new recipes, and travelling!

Renata Rovelo Velázquez

MA Student

Contact Details

https://www.linkedin.com/in/renata-rovelo-111ba311a/
https://www.squamish.net/community-initiatives/climate-strategy/

rovelov[at]student.ubc.ca

Bio

Renata Rovelo is a MA student at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, under the supervision of Professor Leila Harris. As a member of the EDGES Research Collaborative, her research explores the non-material dimensions of water for Indigenous peoples, with a particular focus on the Squamish People.

Renata also serves as the Climate Action Strategy Manager for the Squamish Nation, bringing over 10 years of experience in climate policy and environmental justice. In previous roles, she worked at the Mexican Stock Exchange as the Commercial Coordinator for the voluntary carbon market and at the Organization of American States in Washington D.C., where she liaised with civil society on environmental justice initiatives.

In her free time, Renata plays drums in one band and guitar in another, trains for marathons, practices yoga, and tries to meditate daily.

Evan Eskilson

PhD Student

Bio

Evan is a PhD student at IRES under the supervision of Dr. Hannah Wittman. His research is focused on the trade-offs associated with high levels of specialization within farming systems. In particular, he is interested in exploring how crop diversification and other farm-level agroecological practices can increase farmer control over decision making, allowing farmers to become more sustainable, profitable, and culturally representative. More broadly, he hopes to influence how people think about specialization, and encourage individuals to pursue more diverse areas and types of knowledge, as well as experiences so they may better address complex problems. Evan is from Lawrence, Kansas and moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to study his bachelor’s in economics at the University of Cincinnati. After graduating in 2022, he began a masters in Global Political Economy at Stockholm University, writing his masters thesis on changes in crop diversity in Swedish agriculture in response to changes in extreme weather. Throughout his education he has worked in a variety of companies and NGOs including the Exponential Roadmap Initiative where he developed guidance for corporate climate transition planning.