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Members

Meet the team behind URAM-IITD.

The Urban and Regional Air Quality Management group brings together faculty, research scholars, and alumni working across air-quality modeling, environmental systems, health studies, and policy-facing research.

Faculty Senior academic leadership across air quality and environmental engineering
Scholars Research spanning modeling, health impact, climate policy, and machine learning
Alumni Graduates now contributing to research and academic institutions worldwide

Faculty

Experienced guidance across environmental research and practice.

The faculty members associated with URAM-IITD bring deep expertise in air-quality modelling, environmental systems, public policy, and engineering practice, helping shape both research direction and real-world impact.

Prof. Mukesh Khare

Professor Mukesh Khare is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers India and Fellow of the Wessex Institute of Great Britain. He is a Chartered Engineer and obtained his Ph.D. in the Faculty of Engineering from Newcastle University, UK.

With a specialization in air-quality modelling, his experience spans research and development studies, teaching, consulting, modelling, and editorial activities. He has authored more than 200 research publications and serves on national-level policy and advisory bodies, including the High Level Task Force at the Prime Minister's Office.

Email: mukeshk@civil.iitd.ac.in

Prof. Arvind Kumar Nema

Prof. Arvind K. Nema has 12 years of professional experience in environmental practices for integrated waste management, with expertise in simulation and optimization of environmental systems and environmental impact assessment.

He obtained his doctorate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, has more than 50 publications to his credit, and also serves as the Dean of Student Affairs at IIT Delhi.

Email: aknema@civil.iitd.ac.in

Prof. Sri Harsha Kota

Sri Harsha Kota is an Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Delhi. Earlier, from August 2014 to May 2018, he served as Assistant Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Delhi.

He has more than ten years of research experience in air-quality modeling and monitoring. His work focuses on regional and urban air-quality modeling, emission factors, air purification, air-quality management, air pollution and health, indoor air pollution, and source apportionment. He collaborates actively with scientists in India, the US, Europe, and China.

Email: harshakota@civil.iitd.ac.in

Research Scholars

Current scholars advancing the group's research themes.

The current scholars contribute to interdisciplinary work across urban air pollution, health outcomes, modeling systems, climate policy, and environmental engineering applications.

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Mr. Shubham Sharma

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Mr. Shubham Sharma

Research Scholar

Shubham's doctoral research examines associations between PM2.5 and morbidity and mortality in Delhi under the supervision of Dr. Sri Harsha Kota and Dr. Mina Chandra. He also worked on an integrated study of air pollutant sources in Delhi during his master's at IIT Delhi.

He specializes in urban and regional air-pollution modelling and health studies, and is involved in research collaborations with scientists in India, Europe, and China.

Supervisors: Dr. Sri Harsha Kota and Dr. Mina Chandra

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Mr. Arpit Katiyar

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Mr. Arpit Katiyar

Research Scholar

Arpit works on air-quality models with a specific focus on WRF-Chem. He also contributes to emission inventory development and the estimation of non-local emissions affecting air quality.

He completed his B.Tech in Civil Engineering from IIT Delhi and M.Tech in Environmental Engineering and Management from IIT Kanpur, and is part of the URAM-IIT Delhi group.

Supervisor: Dr. Sri Harsha Kota

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Mr. Amit Munjal

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Mr. Amit Munjal

Research Scholar

Amit's research focuses on practical challenges related to the National Highways sector in India. He completed his B.Tech in Civil Engineering from NIT Kurukshetra and later joined the M.Tech program at IIT Delhi.

He has worked in the Public Health Engineering Department, Government of Haryana, and is currently with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, which sponsors his PhD.

Supervisors: Dr. Sri Harsha Kota and Prof. A. K. Nema

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Mr. Yash Jain

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Mr. Yash Jain

Research Scholar

Yash works on air-quality monitoring, modelling, and health impact assessment. He completed his graduation in Biotechnology from Amity University and a Master's in Environment Management from GGSIPU Delhi.

He is an external project-sponsored PhD candidate under the guidance of Dr. Sri Harsha Kota and Prof. Vivek Kumar.

Supervisors: Prof. Vivek Kumar and Dr. Sri Harsha Kota

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Ms. Pratibha Anand

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Ms. Pratibha Anand

Research Scholar

Pratibha is a botanist researching the impact of air pollution on plants. She has also contributed to the GCRF-funded project "A Systems Approach to Air Pollution in Delhi" under the supervision of Prof. Mukesh Khare at IIT Delhi.

She completed her B.Sc. (Hons.) in Botany from Miranda House, University of Delhi, and her M.Sc. in Environment Management from GGSIPU Delhi. She is a UGC-NET-JRF sponsored candidate.

Supervisors: Dr. Sri Harsha Kota and Prof. Mukesh Khare

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Ms. Anjali Bansal

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Ms. Anjali Bansal

Research Scholar

Anjali's research is based on applications of machine learning in the wastewater engineering sector. She completed her M.Tech in Environmental Engineering from MNIT Jaipur and currently works as a Design Engineer at Ramboll India Pvt. Ltd.

She brings 5.5 years of professional experience to her research work.

Supervisor: Dr. Sri Harsha Kota

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Mr. Diljit Kumar Nayak

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Mr. Diljit Kumar Nayak

Research Scholar

Diljit studies policy formulation for climate-change mitigation under the National Clean Air Programme by examining variation in land use and land cover across the Indian region.

He received his Master's from the Center of Atmospheric Sciences, IIT Delhi.

Supervisors: Dr. Gazala Habib and Dr. Sri Harsha Kota

Alumni

Former researchers continuing their work beyond the group.

URAM-IITD alumni continue to contribute to air-quality and environmental research through academic and research institutions in India and abroad.

Dr. Shovan Kumar Sahu

Thesis Title: Estimation of contributions from potential source regions to mortality associated with PM2.5 in Indian cities.

Currently PDF at Tsinghua University.

Dr. Rajyalakshmi Garaga

Thesis Title: Identifying the sources of wet deposition in urban and dry deposition in urban and rural residential areas of Assam.

Currently faculty at NIT Andhra Pradesh.

Contact

Get in touch with the URAM-IITD group.

For research inquiries, collaborations, and academic communication, reach out directly by email.

harshakota@iitd.ac.in