Asif Ishtiaque, Assistant Professor
I am an Assistant Professor in the School of Earth, Environment and Sustainability at Missouri State University. My PhD training was at Arizona State University and I garnered postdoctoral experience at the University of Michigan. My research interests lie in the convergence of climate change impacts and sustainability. More specifically, I am interested in agricultural sustainability, marginalization in climate adaptation, resilience against natural hazards, and land use-natural resources interactions. I use mixed methods in my research that include statistical/ML modeling, GIS and Remote sensing, and qualitative analysis techniques. My research aims to produce transdisciplinary knowledge that is helpful to both academics and practitioners.
Sobia Shah, MS Student
Sobia is passionate about research related to environmental sustainability. With a bachelor's degree in Economics from Fatima Jinnah Women University in Pakistan, she has an extensive working experience in the development sector. She held various management positions in USAID, ADB, IRD Pakistan projects before joining MSU and helped solve critical environmental and development challenges. Sobia also holds an MS in Development Studies from National University of Science and Technology in Pakistan. Her commitment to addressing environmental challenges drives her to conduct research on sustainable livelihood in Northern Pakistan. As an environmental social scientist, Sobia uses social survey and econometric methods in her research. She is currently examining the adaptation opportunities and marginalization in communities exposed to glacial lake outburst flooding in the Hindukush Himalayan region.
Samiha Nuzhat, MS Student
With strong interests in climate change adaptation and resilience, Samiha aspires to investigate the complexities of human-environment interactions under the changing climate. She has a double major in Environmental Science and Bioinformatics in undergraduate degree from Asian University for Women and an MS in Public Health from Independent University in Bangladesh. Before joining MSU, to understand real-world climate adaptation and resilience challenges better, Samiha worked with various development agencies- Oxfam, Water & Life, and WaterAid, where she was actively engaged in adaptation design and community resilience building. Samiha uses a variety of methods in her research works, including statistical/ML modeling, GIS, community-centered approaches. She is currently analyzing the determinants of climate-smart agriculture adoption and marginalization in climate adaptation in South Asia.
Daniel Donkor, MS Student
As a human-environment scientist, Daniel is passionate about addressing pressing global environmental challenges. Daniel completed his undergraduate in Geography and Rural Development from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. His primary research interests include climate change, agricultural sustainability, human dimensions of global change, and nature-society interactions. He uses mixed methods approaches in his research that include GIS, quantitative and qualitative analyses. His research aims to contribute meaningful knowledge that can shape policies and practices to a resilient and sustainable future. Daniel is currently analyzing the impacts of climate change on plant hardiness zones across Midwest USA.