Ph.D. in Development Studies

Seongmin Shin's research seeks to enhance smallholder farmers’ access to voluntary carbon markets through agroforestry practices and the integration of trees into agricultural landscapes. During his fieldwork in Eastern and Northern Uganda, Seongmin worked with local farmers to understand their perspectives on carbon projects and small-scale agroforestry initiatives. He conducted more than 40 interviews with farmers, NGOs, cooperatives, and international organizations, organized focus group discussions, and administered over 300 surveys.

As part of her ethnographic study, Carolina Osorio Gil is working with Movimiento Ríos Vivos in Colombia to implement a pilot project for cultivating and extracting medicinal plants native to this area. This project, called Semillas de Resistencia (Seeds of Resistance), is founded in the ancestral, traditional, and empirical knowledges of cañonera/os, or people of the canyon, the term that MRV members use identify themselves.

Made 'Aditya' Adityanandana's research delves into the challenges faced by smallholders in Indonesia, particularly rural youth, amid interventions to increase national food production. As the 2024 recipient of the RANA Prize, Aditya will conduct a year of research in Central Kalimantan, tracing the structural impediments and discourses that discourage youth from becoming farmers.

Tamar Law's research examines the climate justice dimensions of climate mitigation. As the recipient of the 2023 Ronny Adhikarya Niche Award (RANA) Prize, Tamar will examine blue carbon governance and low-carbon development in Indonesia.

“Climate management can exacerbate existing inequalities as countries in the Global South are increasingly forced to shoulder the burden of both climate shocks and responsibility for climate mitigation,” Tamar said. “With my research I hope to delineate mitigation pathways that promote climate justice and resilient climate futures for all.”

Emily Hillenbrand examines processes and implications of gender-transformative approaches and shifting masculinities in agriculture development programming. Her research is conducted in partnership with Soils, Food, and Healthy Communities (SFHC) in Malawi, a farmer-led non-profit organization that addresses the challenges of soil infertility, climate change, food insecurity, and gender inequality.

Timothy Ravis explores how technological change affects the relationships between state, society, and nature, through the specific history and geography of Indonesia. Drawing on novel approaches in political ecology and geography, his research looks to analyze the social forces and structures which hinder the large-scale development of renewable energy sources, such as geothermal, in Indonesia. He is the inaugural recipient of the Cornell RANA Prize, which recognizes Global Development graduate students pursuing innovative thinking in their studies and careers.

Camillo Stubenberg examines the rushed adoption of off-grid and renewable energy technologies after the interlocking political and financial crisis that led to a total breakdown of the Lebanon’s electricity sector. By shedding light on the ongoing dynamics in Lebanon, this research provides insights both for the design of renewable energy systems as well as policies aimed at fostering energy transitions across the globe.