Indumathi Nambi | Discovering Environmental Risks and Stimulating Eco-Innovation in India: Insights from past 10 years

Professor Nambi’s talk will cover two aspects of her work.

The first, will describe her fieldwork discovering high levels of PFAS in wastewater in Chennai, as well as a case study of an Oil spill in Chennai during the Michang Cyclone and throws light on the huge responsibility of academicians to steer constructive environment action on ground as they navigate their way witnessing lopsided corporate actions, indecisive regulatory authorities, ignorant justice systems, impacted communities and restrictive publication, while being in dialogues with all parties. These experiences have shaped her career path into a meaningful balance of advocacy and translational research into implementable solutions.

The second part will describe her 10-year efforts leading the EcoInnovation and Entrepreneurship programs at IITMadras which has been highly impactful nurturing 300 startup ideas with 30 + successful startups. Translating technology academic research into marketable products can be challenging for environmental domains due to low ROIs, market rejects and long incubation times. Innovations for environment for industry can be successfully scaled up only if sustainability is sold as a driver of competitiveness in global markets. When industry and community pain points and government policies are on board at the early stage of the venture, sustainability can move from aspiration to action.

Co-Sponsored by CEE and CGI

Free and open to the public

Center for Global India | View More Events
Co-hosted with: Princeton Institute for International & Regional Studies, Center for Global India (OWNER)