Center 5: Center for Natural Resources and Technology Policy

Suroj Pokhrel is a retired secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Development and Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives. He has received a PhD degree in Entomology and M.Sc. in Plant Protection from Agriculture and Forestry University, Nepal. He is also trained on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in 1993 from Kobe University, Japan.

Dr. Pokhrel has served as a government employee for 34 years in different capacities as Plant Quarantine Officer in Plant Quarantine Check posts, Plant Protection Officer in Horticulture farms, and Regional Plant Protection Labs, Agriculture Development Officer in District Agriculture Development Offices, Programme Director in Crop Development Directorate, National IPM Coordinator and Programme Director in Directorate of Plant Protection, Director General in Department of Environment, Joint Secretary (Foreign Aid Cooperation) and the Secretary of Government of Nepal in Ministry of Agriculture Development. To his credit are hundreds of original research articles and several review articles on a wide range of areas in agriculture science in peer-reviewed journals, and three books on honeybee management and collected works. He has supervised four postgraduate students for their PhD and Master’s degree theses and is currently serving as an Adjunct Professor at Agriculture and Forestry University.

Dr. Sangeeta Kaushal Mishra is the Director and Chief Consultant at Paropakar Maternity and Women’s Hospital, and Associate Professor (Obstetrics/Gynecology) at the National Academy of Medical Sciences. She has extensive experience, working with Government institutions, medical colleges, INGOs, and NGOs. With a Doctorate in Medicine (MD) and Masters in Public Health (MPH) from Johns Hopkins University, USA, she is actively involved in teaching undergraduates and postgraduates, while playing a key leadership role in apex organizations of the Ministry of Health, with involvement in the Covid response at policy, research, and implementation levels.  As a former Fulbright scholar, she is a strong advocate of Women’s health and is passionate about gender issues and health equity.

Prof. Jiba Raj Pokharel, a graduate of Architecture Conservation from the University of York, UK, is a retired Professor of the Institute of Engineering a former Vice-Chancellor and Academician of Nepal Academy of Science and Technology. Prof. Pokharel has decades of experience in teaching, research, designing, technology development, and leading higher educational institutions and professional organizations. He has contributed to the designing of the Maya Devi temple in Lumbini, conservation of Hari Bhawan,  Jaya Bageswori temple, and Chapagaon site , and the development of an action plan of the Chyama Singha Dattatraya Corridor of Bhaktapur. Prof. Pokharel has developed fire-resistant thatch roofing technology and indigenous landslide prevention method. Supervision of several Masters and PhD thesis, and dozens of scientific and popular publications are to his credit.

Ajaya Dixit educated in civil engineering (1977) and hydraulics (1981) has been involved in studying challenges of local water management, dams, disaster risks reduction, environmental impact analysis, and transboundary water management. He has been involved in the study of climate change adaptation and resilience-building against floods, droughts, and political-economic analysis, and policy and institutional studies. He has supported in capacity building and mentoring of the young generation of professionals and currently curates South Asia Nadi Sambad (SoANaS), a platform aimed at promoting dialogue on the challenge of water in South Asia. He led the team of 14 Think Tanks of South Asia to publish the book Strengthening Policy Research: Role of Think Tank Initiative in South Asia.

Dinesh Raj Bhuju is an Academician at Nepal Academy of Science and Technology and Hon. Professor of Mid-West University. A PhD in ecology (1998), he prepared a nationwide ecological database of Chure hills (2003), established dendro-lab and plots to assess climatic impacts at tree-lines of Nepal Himalaya (2008), and pioneered science radio and spearheaded science popularization in Nepal (1985). He coordinated drafting the STI Policy of Nepal 2018. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, he created a pro-bono platform “Scientist Nepal”.

Prof.  Dr Ranjana Gupta specializes in parasitology. She is former head of Central Department of Zoology, Tribhuvan University and currently is a member of Academic Council, TU, Quality and Accreditation Technical Committee, Higher Education QAA Council under the University Grants Commission (UGC), Nepal

She is also a former senator of Tribhuvan University Assembly. She has experience of working as a member of subject committees under Institute of Science and Technology, Zoology and Bio-technology, TU.

Recipient of National Education award by HMG, Nepal in 1989, Mahendra Vidya Bhushan by HMG, Nepal in 1998, Nepal Education Award by Nepal Gov. in 2009 and Dirgha Sewa Padak by Vice Chancellor, T.U. 2010, Prof Dr Gupta has conducted more than 25 research projects in the relevant fields, supervised more than one hundred MSC and two PhD dissertations. To her credit are publication of several scientific papers and a book on fundamentals and practice of research methodology.