Technical Advisory Council
Dr.
M. Paramathma (Expert in Tree-borne Oilseeds)
Dr. Paramathma is Professor & Nodal
Officer, Center of Excellence on BioFuels at the Agricultural
Engineering College and Research Institute of the Tamil Nadu
Agricultural University in Coimbatore. He has published several
books and papers over the last decade on the cultivation of
Tree-Borne Oil Seeds for energy production, and has advised the
President of India several times on issues related to BioFuels
promotion. Dr. Paramathma advises the campaign on all aspects of
cultivating Tree-Borne Oil Seeds and the sourcing of top quality
planting material from around the world.
Dr.
D.S. Lohiya (Expert in Community-based Watershed Management)
Dr D.S. Lohiya is the Secretary of
Beed-based NGO Manavlok. He has a lifelong commitment to social
work, acknowledged through many prestigious national awards . Dr
D.S. Lohiya has been appointed as the vice chairman of Bharat
Nirman (Nation Building) Program for the Beed District. He has
also been chosen for over a dozen committees of the District
Administration and at the national level which focus on areas
such as farmers suicides, non conventional energy development ,
watershed development, water and sanitation, and afforestation.
Dr D.S. Lohiya advises the campaign on integrated watershed
development and community outreach strategies.
Dr.
M. C. Saxena (Expert in Dryland Agriculture)
Dr. Saxena retired in 2005 from the International Center
for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas. Dr. Saxena was
recently a visiting Professor at the Arid Land Research Centre,
Tottori University, Japan, where he launched research projects
on Jatropha curcas. Dr. Saxena advises the campaign on all
aspects of agricultural production on arid and marginal lands.
He his also the connection point to top scientists and
officials at leading agricultural research institutes and bodies
in India and abroad.
Field Site Interns & Research
Tata Institute of Social
Sciences, Mumbai
Ramana Babu Killi and Sarthak Ray (students
in the institute's inaugural Masters in Social Entrepreneurship
class) conducted interviews and developed detailed case studies
of families targeted by the campaign.
Ross Business School, University of Michigan, Ann Harbor,
Michigan
Four MBA students (with support and
guidance from the Acumen Fund in New York) conducted a field
study on the local market in the Beed District for BioFuel made
from tree-borne oilseeds.
University of Oxford,
Environmental Change Institute, Oxford, UK
Alexandra Morel (an MSc student)
conducted field work on site on
emerging Sustainability Assurance Criteria for BioFuel
Production, focusing on criteria being developed in association
with the Low
Carbon Vehicle Partnership, UK.
