Dr. Prakash Bhave was born in Michigan to first-generation immigrant parents from Belagavi, Karnataka. Raised in California, he pursued his undergraduate course in Environmental Engineering Science from UC Berkeley. Thereafter, he completed his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees at Caltech, specializing in Fine-Particulate Air Pollution.
Dr. Bhave went on to work at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for 11 years in their R&D section in North Carolina, developing decision -support systems for national-scale regulations of coal-fired power plants, truck exhaust, and automotive fuel standards. Over time, he grew wishful that his knowledge and work experience be applied to the most severe air pollution problems outside the U.S. He conducted a worldwide job search, focusing on developing countries with hazardous air quality. Eventually, he and his wife sold their home in North Carolina and quit their U.S. jobs to move with their 3 young children to Kathmandu, Nepal. He describes working and living in Nepal as the experience of a lifetime.
After returning to the U.S., Dr. Prakash continued collaborating with researchers in Nepal while actively volunteering in the Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL). He’s now a full-time math instructor in the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences at North Carolina State University.
So, the conversation revolves around this big switch from the Environmental Sciences to teaching Math – how that helped him shape his political views, the Georgia Senate elections, his focus in his free time – i.e, advocacy on Climate change, his passion for Indian Classical Music and much more – yes, this conversation is a must listen – Tune – in for sure, once again, in case you missed it – this Sunday, 03 January, on our Hindi Radio Show, Chat and Chai, on MeraSangeet Gold at 7:00 AM , 11:00 AM , 1:00 PM , 3:00 PM , 5:00 PM , 7:00 PM , 9:00 PM and 11:00 PM – EST