Saumya is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Geography at Penn State, where she studies energy and infrastructure policy, projects, and outcomes in India.
She has recently returned from India, where she had been undertaking data collection for her dissertation project on the operation and governance of the electricity sector in the city of Mumbai. Her research aims to better understand the complex interplay between energy systems, technologies, the economy and socio-politics in Mumbai.
Prior to joining the graduate program, Saumya worked as a policy research analyst with Prayas (Energy Group) in Pune and with PRS Legislative Research in New Delhi. She has a master's degree in Geography from Penn State, a master's degree in Economics and Public Policy from Sciences Po, Paris, and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Saint Xavier’s College, Mumbai.