Dr.Sudeep Chandra is an Associate Professor of Limnology in the Biology Department at the University of Nevada, Reno (USA); he serves as Director of the University’s Global Water Center: Solutions for Sustainability. He also serves as the Director for the Castle Lake Environmental Research Station, which started in 1959; it is now a long-term ecological research site and home to the longest running mountain lake science collection in North and South America.  Researchers and students at the Station answer important science questions about environmental changes in mountain lakes and might their watersheds.  In 2012-13, Sudeep served the larger U S national science community by serving as one of the Directors for the Ecosystem Sciences Program at the U. S. National Science Foundation.

Dr.Sudeep Chandra is an Associate Professor of Limnology in the Biology Department at the University of Nevada, Reno (USA); he serves as Director of the University’s Global Water Center: Solutions for Sustainability. He also serves as the Director for the Castle Lake Environmental Research Station, which started in 1959; it is now a long-term ecological research site and home to the longest running mountain lake science collection in North and South America.  Researchers and students at the Station answer important science questions about environmental changes in mountain lakes and might their watersheds.  In 2012-13, Sudeep served the larger U S national science community by serving as one of the Directors for the Ecosystem Sciences Program at the U. S. National Science Foundation.  

Sudeep's research program focuses on the conservation of aquatic ecosystems and the betterment of humanity and environment policy through scientific discourse. He advocates for cooperative international research that assists people in developing countries. His interest in international research began in 1997 when he participated in the Tahoe-Baikal Institute’s annual environmental exchange program, which brought him to Lake Baikal, Russia. In 2003, he was awarded his 1st international research funding from the Trust for Mutual Understanding and the National Geographic Society to investigate the impacts of mining activities in the Lake Baikal watershed in Russia and Mongolia. This work led to the development of a project funded by the Global Environment Fund and World Bank to use faith-based, economic generation initiatives to protect Mongolian culture and livelihoods during a period of rapid economic development and the transition to democratic governance.  Towards that end, University of Nevada Researchers have continued to use scientific information that conserve the world’s largest trout of Mongolia, the Taimen. You can see a movie about their work, Fertile Waters.

 

From 2008-11, Sudeep and his Nevada students worked on Northeastern Siberian lakes in Russia to of climate change to carbon cycling in lakes. This US National Science Foundation supported project led to the development of a multi university effort to develop the 1st ecological field station in Russian Siberia supported with collaboration by the US government.  Support from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) provided an opportunity for Sudeep's team to understand how lakes created by irrigation run off may be used for protein and economic production in Uzbekistan.

 

Whether at home or abroad, Sudeep seeks to expand the knowledge and training efforts to conserve lakes and their watersheds around the globe. Through collaborations with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Sudeep led Unidos por El Lago Atitan, to protect Central America’s largest lake, Lago Atitlan in Guatemala. In an effort to expand the work from Guatemala to other regions of Latin America, Sudeep and colleagues from Guatemala are working with their counterparts from Argentina, Chile, Canada, Uruguay, United States with support from the Inter-American Institute and the National Science Foundation to participate in this endeavor called Sensing the America’s Freshwaters Ecosystem Risk from Climate Change. This approach utilizes sociology, economics, and natural resource sciences to quantify risk across sites and provide management solutions for maintaining resources.

 

Recently Sudeep and his friend Dr. Zeb Hogan, the host of the globally watched National Geographic show Monster Fish, have expanded their work to tackle issues within the Lower Mekong River which is the freshwater fish basket of Asia. Sixty million people rely on the Lower Mekong River for their livelihoods and food resources. Their Wonders of the Mekong project, focuses on understanding the ecological and social changes in the Mekong River Basin resulting from climate change, deforestation, and dam development. The goals are to uplift decision making by develop knowledge and technology capacities in the Lower Mekong River to guide the future management of the river.

While leading efforts to provide science based guidance to managing natural resources abroad, Sudeep’s first love of nature is Lake Tahoe. Since 1997, Sudeep has been active in understanding the ecological changes in the lake and cocreating management solutions to protect the 11^th deepest lake in the world. Together with his students, they have used scientific information to cocreate management plans to guide invasive species management and tested novel tools for prevention and control of taxa. For example, they are currently testing the a nonchemical approach developed by a private company for controlling invasive plants with ultra violet light tools or using eDNA to detect invasive clams and crayfish. Their latest work addresses the degradation of the nearshore lake environment and the connections between the watershed and lake clarity. Sudeep believes that no one organization can conserve Lake Tahoe.  It is up to collaborations between the private and public sectors along with University knowledge based institutions to maintain the lake’s fragile clarity for future generations.

Sudeep has received awards for his efforts including: American Fisheries Society’s Award of Excellence, the Tahoe-Baikal Institute Alumni of the Year, University of Nevada’s College of Agriculture, Biotechnology, and Natural Resources Teacher of the Year, the Mad Hatter’s Award (his favorite) from the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Hydrologic Sciences, which he served as Acting coDirector from 2016-18.

Sudeep loves to engage laypersons and professionals, students, policy makers, and concerned citizens in the importance of using science based information to protect and restore aquatic resources.  He feels like there is much more to give in life, and will continue to work to help his fellow humans and the environment in which they inhabit.