Congratulations to Paramita Chakraborty, recipient of the 2024 William R. Walker Graduate Research Fellow Award! Paramita is an M.S. Geography student researching manganese contamination in private drinking water systems in Virginia under Luke Juran and Erin Ling. Paramita holds a B.A. in Political Science and Education from the University of Calcutta and an M.A. in Political Science from Rabindra Bharati University. She previously taught at Missionaries of the Word and served as a research assistant on poverty reduction in suburban Calcutta. Despite the geographic distance, Paramita’s current research is a natural extension of her interest in water quality in the Sundarbans region of India. Through her work, she aspires to advance scientific knowledge and make tangible contributions to societal challenges, particularly those related to water.
Established to honor the late William Walker, the founding director of the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, this award has been given since 1999 to recognize and support graduate students in water resources who are pursuing work in a field different from their undergraduate study, or who have returned to school following a period of professional work. More information about this program is available here.
