Dr. Debanjana Das: Deputy Director & Head of Earth, Energy, Environment & Global Partnerships

Dr. Debanjana Das is an award-winning interdisciplinary climate and atmospheric scientist with more than 15 years of experience across the weather, water, and climate enterprise, with much of her work centered on Earth and environmental systems.

As Deputy Director of P3, Dr. Das contributes to the organization’s overall leadership, strategic direction, communications, and national and international engagement. She also heads P3’s Earth, Energy, Environment & Global Partnerships portfolio, where she leads and develops research and policy initiatives across climate, energy, environment, sustainability, and related areas, with a focus on, but not limited to, science-policy and public engagement, climate communication, the intersection of art and science, the energy-climate nexus, social and environmental justice, public safety, urban planning, and sustainability. She also works to expand P3’s global partnerships and create opportunities for collaborative research, policy dialogue, and implementation, with a strong focus on national interest and the evolving needs of India and the Global South. She is also a Research Affiliate Faculty at George Mason University and serves on the Board of Directors of The Climate Consensus.
Her career includes research and leadership roles at Howard University, where she served as Assistant Director of the Center for Research and Education for Promoting Safety (REPS) in the College of Engineering and Architecture, and as a Research Scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Science Center for Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology. Her academic and research journey also includes postdoctoral research experience at The University of Texas at Austin and George Mason University. Dr. Das received her Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Calcutta and her B.Sc. (Honours) in Chemistry from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata.

Dr. Das has published more than 25 peer-reviewed scientific papers and is an author and co-editor of the forthcoming book, Climate on the Move. She received the American Meteorological Society’s Bill Hooke Award for Science and Policy Leadership for her potential in science-policy leadership. She has also been recognized by various media and platforms and has received honors including the Dashobhuja–Sharad Ananya Samman and the Durga Samman Award.

Beyond her scientific career, Dr. Das is an accomplished performing artist and creative professional, with experience spanning dance, cinema, and creative direction. For her, science and art are not separate worlds, but complementary ways of observing, questioning, and understanding the world around us.

“Science is the ultimate state of my art, and dance is the finest form of science that gives wings to my soul.”
— Dr. Debanjana Das