Team

We are absolutely committed to equality, diversity and inclusivity. CamCID is a safe space for everyone to express their identity, curiosity and creativity.

Dr. Ramit Debnath, Director (Principal Investigator)

Ramit Debnath is a university assistant professor and the inaugural Cambridge Zero fellow at the University of Cambridge, and; a visiting faculty associate at Caltech's Humanities and Social Sciences division. His overarching objectives are to develop collective intelligence approaches using computational social science, machine learning and AI to provide a complex system-level understanding of barriers to climate action in the Anthropocene, their interactions, and how these translate to leverage points for policy and behavioural interventions. His research aims to incorporate the above data to design people-centric and just climate and sustainability action pathways.

Ramit continues to attract funding and fellowships from industry and research councils, including the 2022 Google Cloud Climate Innovation Challenge and the 2021 inaugural Postdoctoral Enrichment Award by the Alan Turing Institute, UK. His work has appeared in major international news agencies like Bloomberg, Associated Press, and Reuters, the BBC, and influential magazines such as Wired and TIME Magazine.

Previously he worked as a researcher with the Cambridge Computer Laboratory, International Energy Agency, Stanford University, and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. He has a background in electrical engineering and sustainability, an MPhil and a PhD with a computational social science and energy justice focus from Cambridge, as a Gates Cambridge Scholar.

At Cambridge, he teaches foundational mathematics and programming in the Architecture Department's new interdisciplinary UG programme called the Design Tripos and graduate courses across the Engineering, Management Sciences, and Public Policy divisions. Ramit is also on the steering committee of Cambridge's new Centre for Human Inspired Artificial Intelligence (CHIA).

Ramit co-founded Unitmode, a climate-tech startup leveraging human-machine ensemble learning for credible climate action. CamCID has a strong translational focus.

Click here for Google Scholar link

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Cambridge, UK
    (with a focus on NLP, distributive energy justice and built environment)
  • M.Phil., Engineering for Sustainable Development, University of Cambridge, UK
  • Visiting Student, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, US
  • Visiting Student, Global Health Programme, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, IL
  • M.Tech., Technology & Development, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, IN
  • B.Tech., Electrical & Electronics Engineering (Honours), SU, IN

Selected Awards and Fellowships

  • Exceptional Global Talent endorsement by the British Academy (2023)
  • Inaugural Cambridge Zero Fellow, University of Cambridge (2022)
  • Google Cloud Climate Innovation Challenge (2022)
  • Sustainability Fellowship, Churchill College, Cambridge (2022)
  • Postdoctoral Enrichment Award, the Alan Turing Institute (2021)
  • Gates Cambridge Scholarship (2018)
  • Commonwealth Scholarship (2017)

Researchers

Current

  • (2023) Cuicheng Zhang, MPhil in Architectural and Urban Studies: Complexity science-based approach to building energy modelling.

Past

  • (2022-23) S. Chinyoka, MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development: Gender mainstreaming and energy cultures in Sub-Saharan Africa. (Now: Working as Electrical Engineer, Scottish Power)
  • (2022-23) O. Osifala, MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development: Sustainable pathways to renewable integration in Nigeria
  • (2022-23) I. Eliiot, MSt in AI and Ethics: Distraction, Deception & Divergence in the Coming Age of Synthetic Media
  • (2022-23) K. Larson, MPhil in Architecture and Urban Studies: Climate impacts and urban resilience of Hurricane Ian. (Now: PhD candidate at University of Miami Rosenstiel School)
  • (2022-23) N.T. Roudsari, MPhil in Architecture and Urban Studies: Gamefication and urban planning
  • (2021-22) K. Raimalani, Engineering for Sustainable Development: Smart grids and equitable energy transition in India (Now: Working as ESG Analyst, Mainstreet Partner)

Research interns

  • (2023) O. Lagercrantz, History and Philosophy of Science: Ethics of solar geoengineering
  • (2023) Kamna S.V., Computer Science and Technology: Nuclear perception in the UK analysis using NLP
  • (2022) P. Zhang, Civil Engineering: Public attitudes towards solar geoengineering using NLP
  • (2021) A. Mishra, Robotics: Gaussian analysis of residential energy consumption in India

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