Garima Raheja spent her childhood in New Delhi, India, witnessing first-hand the negative effects of pollution on the bustling cities around her. Later, Raheja lived in California’s Bay Area, and was imminent with wildfires. These experiences inspired her to find ways to quantify and reduce the impact of climate change, especially for the most vulnerable populations.
As a candidate in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University at Raheja and a candidate in the Lamont-Hotty Earth Observatory, the Lamont-Hotty Earth Observatory has studied machine learning methods for measuring air pollution in marginalized communities around the world, as well as the decarbonized energy grid Strategy. Read more about Rahha’s journey and the women who inspired her in the Q&A below.
How did you get into science?
I grew up in New Delhi, India, one of the most polluted cities in the world, and then moved to California where wildfires became a daily part of our lives, and now I live in New York and last summer it turned orange , so I think the fires are following me and I can never put them in my mind. Living in California, I was inspired by Silicon Valley technology and wanted to conduct influential tech science to mitigate the worst impact of climate change on the most vulnerable people. At the White House under the Biden administration, I began decarbonizing the U.S. energy portfolio and I hope to continue to work on decarbonization and climate science.
Did women from science, Colombia or otherwise inspire you?
So many women inspired me. My mom, Pratibha Raheja, is a former pharmacist and current science teacher who inspires hundreds of students to find curiosity through hands-on science every year. In Colombia, Faye McNeill always leads by example, showing me and many other women how to be a leader while being fun and living a life of vibrant life outside of work.
Also, I was inspired by Colleen Rosales of Optaq, a great mentor and supporter and a great collaborator! I was lucky enough to work with Colleen on many projects and I was always motivated by her thoughtful and insightful contribution to her work. Plus, I am also a big fan of Jackie Klopp in Columbia, Misbath daouda at Berkeley, Pallavi Pant, Institute of Health Effects, Saumya Singh, Saumya Singh of IIFM bhopal, Lyssa freese, lyssa frees of Uc Irvine, ana hoffman, ana hoffman, ara hoffman at create Lab and Julia Julia and Natasha ududududu of – gama, are all in the booming earth exchange.
“Without this supportive community, I will not be anywhere, and I hope to continue to grow this community and supportive women of color throughout the field.”
Statistically, women account for only 33% of researchers and tend to receive smaller research grants than male colleagues. Are you facing the challenge of female scientists? Do you see things improving?
I definitely face such challenges and exacerbated them by women of color. There are still many implicit biases in the higher education and professional world. Fortunately, I was surrounded by amazing women, even though the situation of women’s rights seemed to be declining globally, they took the time to guide me and encourage me. Without this supportive community, I would not be anywhere, and I hope to continue to grow this community and supportive women of color throughout the field!
