Bhaskar Vira


Bhaskar Vira is an Indian academic, professor of economic geography, and the current Head of Department of Geography, University of Cambridge. He is the founding director of the University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute, and a fellow of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. In 2018, he was awarded the Busk Medal by the Royal Geographical Society for his contributions in the fields of environment, development and economy.

Biography

Vira was born in New Delhi, India and was educated at The Doon School in Dehradun. After Doon, he went to St. Stephen's College, Delhi for a bachelor's degree in economics and then got a second BA from St. John's College, Cambridge. He then stayed in Cambridge to pursue an MPhil and a PhD in economics and political economy respectively.

Career

While working on his doctorate, Vira lectured at St. John's College, Cambridge in 1993–94. After receiving his doctorate in 1994, Vira became a Research Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Environment, Ethics and Society in Mansfield College, University of Oxford, and remained there till 1997. He then joined the Department of Geography at the University of Cambridge and became a fellow and graduate tutor at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. In 2013, he became the founding director of the University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute. He was appointed Head of Department of Geography, University of Cambridge in October 2019. He regularly writes for various newspapers and magazines, including The Guardian, The Independent, Quartz, and The Wire. He was awarded the Busk Medal by Royal Geographical Society in 2018, for his interdisciplinary contributions in the fields of environment, development and economy.

Selected publications