Affiliated Departments & Programs

Karan Shakya joined Kenyon College in 2025. He is an applied economist whose research explores the drivers and consequences of global environmental change, with a focus on how these changes affect vulnerable communities and their capacity to build resilience. His work has also focused on examining the unintended effects of environmental and agricultural policies, as well as the influence of seasons on children’s well-being in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Shakya’s work primarily involves quantitative analysis, integrating large-scale household surveys with remote-sensed data while also drawing on qualitative fieldwork to support findings.

Areas of Expertise

Human-environment interactions, adaptation and resilience, development economics

Education

2025 — Doctor of Philosophy from The Ohio State University

2020 — Bachelor of Arts from Dickinson College

Courses Recently Taught

This course examines the processes used to understand, analyze and solve environmental problems. Students are introduced to the use of mathematics and statistics to analyze environmental data. Problems involving stock, dimensions, mass balance, energy and population analysis are studied. Applied static and dynamical modeling of environmental problems is emphasized. This counts toward the quantitative skills requirement for the major. This interdisciplinary course does not count toward the completion of any diversification requirement. Prerequisite: ENVS 112 and declared environmental studies major. Offered every fall.