Dear All,

We are delighted to invite you to the first talk of the Environmental Studies Colloquium Series, Monsoon 2026.

Date & Time: 15 September, 1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m.

Venue: AC-04-004

Topic: What’s in Our Air—and Can Technology Clean It Up?

Abstract: 

Why do we face such severe air pollution? What have we done to address it, and are our current solutions likely to work? This talk will explore what is in the air we breathe, why air pollution remains such a persistent challenge, and how technology is being used to understand, monitor, and tackle the problem. We will also ask a harder question: can technology alone save us from air pollution? 

Speakers:

Dr. Shahzad Gani is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, IIT Delhi, where he leads the Noise, Aerosols, and Air Quality (NAAQ) group. He joined IIT Delhi in 2023, following a postdoctoral position at the Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research, University of Helsinki, where he is now a Visiting Researcher. He holds a PhD in Civil Engineering and an MS in Environmental Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and a BTech in Civil Engineering from IIT Delhi. Shahzad is passionate about improving air quality and tackling climate change. His research aims at understanding the sources, sinks, and processes that drive atmospheric aerosols, with a particular interest in the interplay between atmospheric aerosols, meteorology, and climate change. Alongside his academic research, Shahzad is interested in environmental storytelling and science communication. He has written for The Indian Express, The Hindu, and The Wire, and serves as an editor for Geoscience Communication and Aerosol Research.

Dr. Vidya Subramanian is an Associate Professor at the Jindal Global Law School. She completed her doctoral research at Jawaharlal Nehru University and subsequently held postdoctoral positions at IIT Bombay and Harvard University. Her doctoral research examined the impact of ICTs and television on cricket, focusing on how these technologies transformed the sport, the spectator, and the broader cultural landscape. This work culminated in her first book, Speeding Up Sport: Technology and the Indian Premier League (OUP, 2023). Vidya is an interdisciplinary scholar whose research interests lie at the intersections of technology, culture, and society, with a particular focus on the digital realm. Her work critically interrogates how technological systems mediate social and political life, drawing on fields such as Science, Technology, and Society (STS), Sociology, Media Studies, and Sports Studies. Her research centres on India while engaging broader questions relevant to the Global South. She has also written on justice-seeking practices in the digital, citizenship, and the intersections of power, technology, and inequality.

We look forward to having you with us for an engaging talk and discussion.

warm regards,

Environmental Studies Department