Praveen Kumar

Dr. Praveen Kumar is an Associate Professor at Boston College's School of Social Work. He holds affiliate roles in the Environmental Studies Program, Global Public Health and the Common Good Program, and the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society. His research focuses on climate change adaptation, energy access, and social network analysis in marginalized communities across South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. He employs innovative methods like fuzzy cognitive mapping and participatory living lab approaches to address climate justice and sustainable development.

Education: B.S. from University of Mumbai (India), M.A. from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (India), PhD. from Washington University in St. Louis (USA).

Research emphasizes household energy access, just transitions, and implementation science frameworks. His NIH-funded work examines climate change and health linkages, and he co-leads the American Academy of Social Work's Grand Challenge on environmental responses. He teaches graduate courses on climate change and environmental justice, and undergraduate courses on environment and public health.

Notable collaborations include system dynamics modeling for low-emission food systems in Kenya and China, and studies on solar energy entrepreneurship in rural India. His work is supported by NIH, the UN Foundation, and the Government of India.

He serves as an associate editor for the Annals of Global Health and previously worked as a management consultant at KPMG India. His research bridges social work practices with environmental policy, emphasizing community-driven solutions for vulnerable populations.