Saraswat, Arvind

Arvind addressing new graduate students at Orientation 2009
Faculty:
College for Interdisciplinary Studies
Country:
India
Home town: 
Aligarh
Started program at UBC in: 
2006

Research

Research topic: 

Urban air pollution, human health and state policies in India

Research supervisor: 
Prof. Milind Kandlikar
Research location: 
RMES
Research description: 

I am looking at the relationship between urban air pollution, human health and state policies in India.
As in any country, economic development in India has been accompanied by deterioration of urban air quality. My research aims to rank the factors that are primarily responsible for such deterioration and suggest effective remedial measures. Further, my research will also model human exposure in cities in India based on traffic, land use, socio-economic status etc. This model will be used to estimate the burden of urban air pollution in cities in India.
Such a model is important given the high costs of air pollution monitoring networks and the inability of ambient air quality measurements to correctly predict human exposure levels.

What impact do you hope your research will have?: 

My research will provide better understanding of how air pollution exposure varies within different micro-environments in Indian cities and how individuals belonging to different socio-economic classes get exposed to air pollution.
This will help formulation of preventive measures.

Why did you decide to pursue a graduate degree?: 

Since I plan to teach in future I had to go for a doctoral degree.

Why did you choose to come to British Columbia and study at UBC?: 

The Institute for Resources Environment and Sustainability at UBC is one of the very few interdisciplinary programs that allows students to work on issues in a holistic manner and not be bound by disciplines.

Do you have any tips for students from your home country coming to Canada / to UBC Grad School?: 

UBC offers you the very best of everything.

What has been your most memorable Vancouver experience so far?: 

Ok, that is tough. Being the President of Graduate Student Society of UBC has been a great experience.

Personal interests / Hobbies: 

Swimming, chess and cricket

What are your future career goals?: 

I plan to teach once I complete my degree.


 

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