DCN News Network
Pune: Dr Rajani Panchang, Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Science at Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), has been honoured with the Fulbright-Kalam Climate Fellowship for Academic and Professional Excellence 2025 — one of the most prestigious international fellowships for climate research.
As part of this fellowship, Dr Panchang will collaborate with eminent marine scientist Prof. Pamela Hallock and will be hosted by Dr. Michael Martinez-Colon at Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, for a nine-month research tenure beginning in mid-November 2025.
Her research during the fellowship will focus on assessing the impact of ocean acidification on marine bio-calcifiers, primarily coral reef foraminifera. She aims to analyze how these microscopic shelled organisms respond to rising carbon dioxide levels, both through field studies in the Florida Reef Tract and controlled laboratory experiments. Her work will also involve the integration of long-term atmospheric data and samples collected since the 1980s to understand changing ocean chemistry over decades.
By studying the adaptability and vulnerability of these calcifying organisms, Dr Panchang hopes to provide realistic biological insights that could guide policy and financial frameworks for sustainable ocean management. She emphasizes that “life itself is the most effective indicator of environmental change,” advocating for the training of local youth in biological monitoring methods to minimize dependence on costly and high-emission analytical systems.
The Fulbright-Kalam Climate Fellowship, jointly administered by the United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF), enables Indian faculty and researchers to pursue advanced climate-related studies in the US for 8–12 months. The program is designed to strengthen bilateral scientific collaboration and develop long-term solutions to climate change challenges in both countries.
Dr Panchang is the only Earth scientist from India and one of just four Indian researchers to receive the fellowship this year. She completed her PhD at the CSIR–National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, in 2008, and has previously worked as a Woman Scientist at Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, and a SERB Fast-Track Scientist at IISER Pune, under various Department of Science & Technology projects.
Her outstanding academic journey is marked by several prestigious honours, including the Mani Shankar Shukla Gold Medal (2015) from the Palaeontological Society of India, and research fellowships from DAAD (Germany), CSIR, Lila Poonawalla Foundation, and Hindustan Unilever. In 2005, she was felicitated by former President Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam for being an exceptional LILA Fellow in Oceanography.
