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ViSION

To make disaster management more inclusive by researching the status of women in disaster management and increase participation in management and relief design in the aftermath of disasters, disaster resilience among women, and role of women in disaster prevention and mitigation methods for addressing slow and climate change induced disasters like poverty, environmental degradation, unsustainable resource use.

MISSION

To drive change on the role of women, based on research, from the status of a victim of disaster, to an empowered solution provider, by increasing awareness, training, and increase representation in private and public disaster management agencies. Research and implement pathways to empower women as drivers on sustainable natural resource management as disaster mitigation strategy Research and train women in skills for the future to help families transition the livelihood impact of disasters 

Thematic Areas

Climate Change & Disaster Resilience

AI & Early Warning: Systems & Solutions

Risk to Resilience

Sustainable Livelihood & Community Resilience

TEAM Members

Prof. Bhavani R. Rao
Dean, School of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Research Interests: Vocational Education; Vulnerability Mapping; Rural Development; Educational Technology; Games for Change; and Computing in Social Sciences
bhavani@am.amrita.edu

Dr. Rangasami P. 
Vice-Principal and HOS
Department of Social Work
Coimbatore
Research Interests: Child Protection Child Rights, Disaster Management, HIV/AIDS, Migration, NGO Management
p_rangasami@cb.amrita.edu

⁠Dr. Kanagaraj Saminathan
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Disability Issues, Disaster Management, GIS & Rural Development, Social Welfare Policy, Sustainable Rural Development, Women Empowerment, Youth Development
s_kangaraj@cb.amrita.edu

Balu Mohandas Menon 
Team Lead for Rural Technologies, AMMACHI Labs, India
Research Interests: Machine Learning, Haptics, Computational Social Science, Data Analysis, and Robotics
Develop/Evaluate an Effective and Accurate Detection System, Evaluate the Role of Different Sensor Detection Strategies; Evaluate Real-World Effectiveness; Assess Stakeholder Notifications; Digitization of Participatory Rural Appraisal; Gender Analysis of Human-Animal Conflict
balummenon@am.amrita.edu

Mukil M. V.
Research Associate
Research Interests: Sustainable Behavior, Environmental Psychology, Indian Temples, Design for Sustainability, Indology
mukilmv@am.amrita.edu

Dr. Drishti Marwaha
Postdoctoral Researcher, Center for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham.
Research Interests: Women’s empowerment, women and healthcare, health economics, gender economics
drishti.marwaha@ammachilabs.org

Dr. Bettina E. Ryf (Sakshini) 
Researcher, Center for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality,
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
Research Interests: Social Psychology, Environmental Psychology, Psychosocial Support in Disaster Management, Child Protection and Family Support
bettina.elke@ammachilabs.org

Tamara
tamara.frunse@ammachilabs.org

⁠Dr. Shalini Mathur Raina
Research and Development Lead for the Seaweed & Seagrass Project, Center for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality, Amritapuri
Research Interests: Plant Biology, Biotechnology
shalini.mathur@ammachilabs.org

Funded Projects

Publications 2022 – 2025

  • Ramesh, R., Frank, E., Padmavilochanan, A., Barda, Y., Eldar, I., Wolf, H., Pras, A., Pousty, D., Anita, P., Shekar, L., von Lieres, J. S., Rao, R. B., Mamane, H., & Fishman, R. (2024). Reliable water quality monitoring by women in low-resource communities. ACS ES&T Water, 4(9), 3832-3841. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00164  
  • Ajith, V., Fishman, R., Yosef, E., Edris, S., Ramesh, R., Suresh, R. A., Pras, A., Rahim, V., Rajendran, S., Yanko, M., Amit, A., Bhavani, R. R., Ramesh, M. V., & Mamane, H. (2023). An integrated methodology for assessment of drinking-water quality in low-income settings. Environmental Development, 100862. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2023.100862 
  • Haidegger, T., Mai, V., Mörch, C. M., Boesl, D. O., Jacobs, A., Rao, B. R., Khamis, A., Lach, L., & Vanderborght, B. (2023). Robotics: Enabler and inhibitor of the sustainable development goals. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 43, 422-434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2023.11.011  
  • Suresh, V., Fishman, R., von Lieres, J. S. and Rao, B. R. (2022). Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the economic situation and food security of rural households in India. Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies. 12(3), 491-509. https://doi.org/10.1108/JADEE-07-2021-0177
  • Bavani, M., Von Lieres, J. S., Sowndaram, C. S., & Prasad, R. (2024, October). Online guided Integrated Amrita Meditation (IAM®) to Improve mental well-being and reduce perceived stress during COVID-19 in India. In 2024 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC) (pp. 446-453). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/GHTC62424.2024.10771539  
  • Bavani, M., Von Lieres, J. S., Gopalan, S., & Prasad, R. (2024, October). Integrated Amrita Meditation (IAM®): Towards sustainable rehabilitation in prisons using digital mental well-being intervention. In 2024 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC) (pp. 454-460). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/GHTC62424.2024.10771548  
  • Raj, A., Valsala, P., & Unnikrishanan, R. (2024, March). Technological and sociocultural barriers to e-sanjeevani as a parallel means of health care: A narrative review. In 2024 5th International Conference on Innovative Trends in Information Technology (ICITIIT) (pp. 1-4). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICITIIT61487.2024.10580209 
  • Ganeshsundaram, R., & Arikkatt, R. M. (2022). Preventing suicidal ideation in university students by increasing social connectedness and enhancing sense of mattering. In P. Ramalingam & P. Varma (Eds.), Multicultural challenges and diverse approaches in school psychology (pp. 733–753). Indian School Psychology Association. Proceedings of the 3rd APSPA International Conference. 
  • von Lieres, J. S., & Cauvery, G. (2022, September). The impact of social media use on young adults’ quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic in South India. In 2022 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC) (pp. 318-324). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/GHTC55712.2022.9910989 
  • Freire, I. T., Løvschal, M., Bollen, J., Carugati, F., Ndzenyuiy, M. N., Page, S. E., Rao, B. R., & Tylén, K. (2025). How do we collaborate?. In P. F. M. J. Verschure (Ed.), The nature and dynamics of collaboration (pp. 317-333). The MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/15533.003.0024
  • McLain, M. L., Suresh, V., Sankaranarayanan, K., & Rao, B. R. (2025). Structure of collaboration in women’s self-help groups. In P. F. M. J. Verschure (Ed.), The nature and dynamics of collaboration (pp. 113-123). The MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/15533.003.0012
  • Pandey, N., & Midha, N. (2024). Gender mainstreaming and the nexus. In Z. Adeel & B. Böer (eds), The water, energy, and food security nexus in Asia and the Pacific. Water security in a new world (pp. 141–155). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29035-0_7
  • Singh, P. K. (2025). Perceptual sensitivity of psychogenic nonepileptic seizure (PNES) patients. International Journal of Epilepsy. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0045-1802599  
  • Singh, P. K., Verma, K., Singh, A. R., & Gupta, S. (2024). Deciphering the puzzle: Exploring the etiology of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. Health Sciences Review, 11, 100171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hsr.2024.100171 
  • Frey, L. M., Venugopal, D., & Dev, V. S. (2024). Prevalence and predictors of suicide ideation among university and high-school students during India’s 2nd wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. PLOS ONE, 19(12), e0311403. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0311403  
  • Pradeep, K., Rajalakshmi, S. A., Asha Priya, T., Aswathy, S., Jisha, V. G., & Vaisakhi, V. S. (2024). Neuroeducation: Understanding neural dynamics in learning and teaching. Frontiers in Education, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1437418 
  • Sardar, A., Mohanan, S. A., & Ganeshsundaram, R. (2024). The efficacy of an expressive arts-based counseling intervention in improving resilience and well-being of parents of children with intellectual disabilities in Bangkok: A mixed methods design. ABAC ODI Journal Vision. Action. Outcome, 12(1), 213–232. https://doi.org/10.14456/abacodijournal.2024.31 
  • Harikrishnan, U. & Sailo, G. L. (2024). Protective factors of school-going adolescents: A school-based survey in Kerala, South India. Indian Journal of Community and Family Medicine 9(2), 161-163. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijcfm.ijcfm_50_22   
  • Fakkel, M., Peeters, M., Branje, S., & Stevens, G. W. (2024). Parental SES and family support as predictors of educational level: Testing the buffering effect of effortful control and peer support. Journal of Adolescence, 96(8), 1884-1900. https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.12389  
  • Fakkel, M., Branje, S., Vollebergh, W. A., Stevens, G. W., & Peeters, M. (2024). Intergenerational upward and downward social mobility: The role of intelligence, effortful control, assertiveness, and peer competence in early adolescence. Emerging Adulthood, 12(5), 838-851. https://doi.org/10.1177/21676968241257585   
  • Fakkel, M., Peeters, M., Vollebergh, W. A. M., & Branje, S. (2023). Parent-adolescent transmission of socioeconomic status: Testing serial mediation of conflict behaviors, emotion regulation, and empathy. Emerging Adulthood, 11(5), 1196-1210. https://doi.org/10.1177/21676968231183029  
  • Fakkel, M., Peeters, M., Branje, S., Stevens, G. W., & Vollebergh, W. A. (2023). Decline in positive future orientations among adolescents during covid‐19: The role of socioeconomic status, parental support, and sense of control. Journal of Adolescence, 95(7), 1321-1332. https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.12204  
  • Valsala, P. & Devanathan, S. (2023). Mental resilience in the context of alcohol use—a qualitative study in a tribal community in South India, Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 22(1), 213-237. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332640.2021.1925195 
  • Valsala, P., & Menon, P. (2023). Psychospiritual basis of altruism: A review. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 63(3), 344-363. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167819830517 
  • Singh, P. K., Chaurasia, R. N., Pratap, S., Tiwari, T., Mishra, V. N., & Singh, T. (2022). Effect of emotional valence on working memory of psychogenic non-epileptic seizure patients. Journal of Neurosciences in Rural Practice, 13(3), 521–524. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0042-1744557  
  • Suresh, V., Fishman, R., von Lieres, J. S., & Rao, B. R. (2022). Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the economic situation and food security of rural households in India. Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, 12(3), 491-509. https://doi.org/10.1108/JADEE-07-2021-0177 
  • Rajalakshmi, S. A., Sowndaram, C. S., Ganesh, P., & Vasu, H. V. (2022). Job search during COVID-19: How online mindfulness intervention helped to reduce stress and enhance the self-esteem of the job seeker. F1000Research, 11, 955. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.109523.2 
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