ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
About
The Department of Environmental Sciences is a newly constituted department at Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi. The Department was established to teach one semester interdisciplinary compulsory course on Environmental Studies after the University of Delhi’s mandate in 2014-15. After the introduction of Choice Based Credit System in 2015-16 this paper became a four credit, AECC (Ability Enhancement Compulsory Course) for students. Students enrolled at the University are required to study and appear for this paper either in the first or second semester of their academic year. After NEP 2020, the course was renamed as AEC and now it runs for two semester (Sem 1/3 or Sem 2/4) for all students. Environmental Studies course at Sri Venkateswara College aims to provide students with the extent of understanding environmental issues. It is done through integrated, problem-oriented study with fieldwork. It is an interdisciplinary compulsory course with an objective to create environmental awareness among students of all disciplines. Sri Venkateswara college faculties with wide-ranging expertise and background in the subject teach the course. The department is also currently offering minor degree in Environmental Studies and also mentors master’s student dissertation. The Department of Environmental Studies develops interest among students in a number of areas, including ecology; biodiversity; conservation; pollution; waste management; and issues of global climate change. The department is associated with many field experts who have contributed significantly in the field. Students are also offered internship opportunities within the department and the department also promotes field-based research, participation in conferences, workshops and seminars. Currently the department has also been running an add-on course in Herpetology (Herpetology: A model for Wildlife Conservation).
Research
The department currently has two faculty members with diverse research experiences. Dr. Robin Suyesh research till date has focused on understanding the behavior and ecology of some very interesting amphibian species in amphibian hotspots of South and South East Asia (Western Ghats, Sri Lanka, Himalayan region of Indian subcontinent, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysian Borneo) and also on unravelling the amphibian biodiversity in these regions through description of new species (Co-authored 13 new species in the last five years). Dr. Pankaj Kumar specializes in water resource management, pollution remediation, and microbial ecology. His research explores the impacts of anthropogenic and natural factors on riverine ecosystems, particularly heavy metal pollution and associated risks. Dr. Kumar has authored/co-authored 9 research papers in reputed journals and 3 book chapters.
Awards and Research In Media
Documentary film “Croaking frogs” won Golden Beaver Award at 10th National Science Film Festival 2020 (First), International Film Festival of India 2020 (First), Awarded by Mr. Prakash Jha (3rd in Films for change category). Film was mentored by Dr. Robin Suyesh, Directed by Aditya (Maths Hons) and Written by Harshil Tewatia (BA Program).
The amphibian research carried out by the Department of Environmental Sciences has been covered by various popular media houses like Doordarshan, TV9, Time of India, The Hindu, The Mint, Hindustan Times etc.
International Visits
Dr. Robin Suyesh presented at 9th World Congress of Herpetology, which happened at University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand in January 2020 and was also invited to deliver at talk by University of Malaysia in March 2020. He also presented the 10th World Congress of Herpetology in Kuching, Malaysia. Dr. Robin Suyesh was also invited to deliver at talk at Rajaratha University of Sri Lanka in January 2025.
Undergraduate research student Anisha Rawat gave oral presentation at the 10th World Congress of Herpetology in Kuching, Malaysia. Megha Srigyan gave poster presentation at European Society for Evolutionary Biology (ESEB) Congress held at University of Turku, Finland in August 2019.
Field Trips
The Department of Environmental Sciences has conducted over 100 local and outstation trips in the past 10 years (2015 – 2025) with a participation of over 15000 students from the college.