Directeur de Recherche , Centre national de la recherche scientifique , Paris, France

AGU embraces the global community and welcomes leaders representing various identities, voices and perspectives. List any identities, voices and perspectives you would bring, including but not limited to nationality, regional representations, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and anything else you feel comfortable sharing.

As a scientist born and educated in India with a research career across three continents, India, USA, and France, I bring a perspective shaped by the Global South and by sustained mobility between very different systems. Having lived over a decade in each, I understand firsthand the structural barriers that researchers from historically underrepresented and marginalized communities navigate, from visa regimes and funding eligibility rules to questions of whose science gets cited and whose gets seen. My research group reflects this commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in practice. I mentor students and early career researchers across a wide range of identities, spanning race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, and sexual orientation, from India, China, Iran, Nigeria, Mexico, Peru, Lebanon, France, and the United States. Creating an environment where scientists from these backgrounds, and those who are the first in their families to enter higher education can thrive is something I take seriously as both a scientific and a human responsibility. I am also deeply committed to science communication and outreach for the younger generation through hands-on demonstrations, accessible writing, or engaging directly with school-age individuals. The next generation of geoscientists, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, deserves to see themselves reflected in our discipline.

Volunteer experience that you feel relates to this position:

Service experience includes recent committee work on the Jason Morgan Award. I have championed colleagues through major award nominations: the Devendra Lal Medal for Pathikrit Bhattacharya, the European Geosciences Union (EGU) Early Career Scientist Award for Kurama Okubo, the Gutenberg Medal for Satoshi Ide, and the Centre national de la recherche scientifique Bronze Medal for Marion Thomas. I mentor international students from across four continents, regularly review for AGU journals on dynamic rupture and induced seismicity, and write evaluation letters for international fellowships.

The section secretary role is determined by individual sections. If needed, the secretary might be asked to serve as an alternate to the president or president-elect at a Council meeting.

As part of the section leadership team, how will you work in partnership with your president, president-elect, other leaders, and staff to communicate with and engage your members to achieve AGU’s vision, values, mission, and goals?

As section secretary, I would see my role as a connective one, working alongside the president, president-elect, committee leaders, and AGU staff to translate our section's collective vision into sustained engagement with members. My approach rests on three priorities aligned with AGU's strategic plan.

First, on catalyzing discovery and solution-based science, I would help ensure our section's meetings, sessions, and publications give equal weight to fundamental discovery and to the societal challenges our science addresses, from seismic hazard to induced seismicity to climate-coupled Earth processes. Coordinating closely with the president and staff, I would work to keep our communications timely, accurate, and reflective of the breadth of work our members do.

Second, on promoting an inclusive scientific culture, I would advocate for transparent processes around honors, session conveners, and early career opportunities, and push for our section to reflect the global community it serves. Having mentored students from nine countries across four continents, I understand that inclusion is built through consistent, deliberate practice, not statements alone.

Third, on partnering broadly, I would help strengthen ties with sister sections, international partners, and adjacent communities such as EGU, the Japan Geoscience Union, and the Seismological Society of America, where many of our members already operate. Effective communication with members means meeting them where they are, across time zones, career stages, and institutional contexts.

Throughout, I would support the president and president-elect in their priorities, contribute reliably to council deliberations when called upon as alternate, and keep our members informed and heard.