Distinguished Professor, Dept. of English
Martha C. Kraft Professor, Humanities Indiana University Bloomington
Samrat Upadhyay is Distinguished Professor of English and Martha C. Kraft Professor of Humanities at Indiana University, where he teaches creative writing. He is the author of six books of fiction, including Arresting God in Kathmandu and Buddha’s Orphans. His award-winning books, which have been translated internationally, have received praise from the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times, among others. His forthcoming novel, Darkmotherland is an epic tale of love and betrayal, and political violence set in an earthquake-ravaged country; Kirkus Reviews calls it “dizzyingly complex and dazzlingly written” and has given a starred review.
Dr. Upadhyay’s keynote speech on Day 1 (Saturday, April 12) will broadly address the aspects of the conference theme (i.e. crossing boundaries), with a unique perspective on the importance of literature and art in bridging disciplinary boundaries. He will also reflect upon his own journey as an immigrant scholar as alternative dimension of boundary crossing and give the audience a sense of his evolution as a writer.
The Oak Foundation Distinguished Professor of Environmental and Energy Policy Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy Professor in the Department of Economics Professor of Environmental Science and Policy Research Professor of Global Health
Duke University
Subhrendu Pattanayak is the Oak Foundation Distinguished Professor of Environmental and Energy Policy, and Research Professor of Global Health at Duke University, USA. He studies the causes and consequences of human behaviors related to the natural environment to help design and evaluate policy interventions in low-income tropical countries. His research is in three domains at the intersection of environment, development, health and energy: household energy, environmental health and forest ecosystem services. He has focused on design of institutions and policies that are motivated by inequities and a range of efficiency concerns (e.g., externalities, imperfect information). Dr. Pattanayak has collaborated closely with multi-lateral agencies, NGOs, governments, and local academics in Nepal, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Sri Lanka and the U.S.
Dr. Pattanayak’s plenary talk on Day 2 (Sunday, April 13) will refer to the conference theme with illustration of his research experience as an economist – applying economics to Conservation, Efficiency, Energy Transitions, Public Health, Sustainability, and doing this in an inclusive manner to build capacity in the global south.
