This news item originally appeared on the website of Ohio State's Department of Agricultural, Environment, and Development Economics (AEDE).
Ohio State’s Environmental Policy Initiative (EPI) is pleased to announce the winners of its 2016 summer research grant competition. Each year, EPI summer research grants support Ohio State doctoral students conducting innovative, environmental policy-related dissertation research. Recipients receive an award of $4,500 to aid them in their research during the summer semester.
This year, the award was given to three outstanding Ohio State doctoral students: Debangana Bose from the Department of Geography, Emily Hutchins who is pursuing a degree in environmental social science in the School of Environment and Natural Resources, and Jonathan Ogland-Hand who is a doctoral student in the Environmental Science Graduate Program.
Bose is advised by Nancy Ettlinger and focuses on the effects of urban restructuring through resettlement and its impact on the environment in her studies at Ohio State. She will use the funding for travel to Delhi, India in 2016 to investigate how resettlement in Delhi’s peri-urban areas have impacted the region’s environmental ecosystems. Her research will also critically evaluate the “Sustainable and Smart Cities” program and “Clean India Mission,” which are policies initiated by the government of India to protect and conserve urban and peri-urban ecosystems.
Hutchins, who is advised by Eric Toman, focuses on climate adaptation policy in her work at Ohio State. She earned a B.S. in environmental science from the University of Maryland where she studied wildlife management and soil science. Before pursuing a graduate degree she worked for the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management in Lewistown, Montana where she gained an appreciation for the work of resource managers and the impact of policy on environmental conservation efforts.
Ogland-Hand is advised by Jeffrey Bielicki who oversees Ohio State’s Energy Sustainability Research Group,
which Ogland-Hand is affiliated with. The group focuses on the 
interaction of energy, the environment and policy. In his studies at Ohio State, Ogland-Hand focuses on quantifying the impact that CO2-Geothermal Bulk Energy Storage (CO2-BES) can have on CO2 emissions from regional electricity systems. This summer Ogland-Hand will apply the EPI grant to research on the impact that CO2-BES could have on regional water stress. Before coming to Ohio State Ogland-Hand earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Valparaiso University.
interaction of energy, the environment and policy. In his studies at Ohio State, Ogland-Hand focuses on quantifying the impact that CO2-Geothermal Bulk Energy Storage (CO2-BES) can have on CO2 emissions from regional electricity systems. This summer Ogland-Hand will apply the EPI grant to research on the impact that CO2-BES could have on regional water stress. Before coming to Ohio State Ogland-Hand earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Valparaiso University.
EPI, which is housed in Ohio State's Department of Agricultural, Environment, and Development Economics (AEDE), aims to stimulate and focus systematic collaboration in environmental policy through research, graduate and undergraduate education, communication with the policy community, and interaction with the national and international community of scholars in environmental policy. The program is overseen by AEDE’s Professor Brent Sohngen.
Image (left to right): Debangana Bose, Emily Hutchins and Jonathan Ogland-Hand