Robert & Patricia Switzer Foundation

Fellowship Year: 2008

Academic Background: San Jose State University - MS 2010- (Environmental Studies)

Currently Working On: Community-Based Renewable Energy Projects

To address climate change caused by fossil fuel based electrification in developing countries, Dipti Vaghela is focusing her academic and career efforts to establish decentralized renewable energy programs for rural communities in India, using a participatory approach that facilitates beneficiaries to become aware of and take ownership of their region’s development. Dipti’s interests in using sustainable technology to alleviate poverty and drudgery in developing communities was triggered by her undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley, her perspectives as a product design engineer in SiliconValley, and her family’s roots in rural India. In pursuing a MS degree in Environmental Studies at San Jose State University, Dipti is doing applied research on micro hydro electrification in Orissa, India. In parallel with managing the renewable energy program at Gram Vikas (GV), a large grassroots NGO working in rural Orissa, Dipti is case studying community participation in GV’s micro hydro program. Dipti’s dual role as a researcher and practitioner has helped her to understand aspects of renewable energy applications, in order to trial a strategy that transforms isolated micro hydro projects into regional programs. The strategy involves facilitating NGOs to become community-driven, implementing projects in clusters of communities, and influencing rural electrification trends such that renewable energy is given priority over grid electricity produced from fossil fuels.

Expertise: Energy & Climate Change, Int'l Conservation & Developmt