• “[In scientific research,] march away from the sound of the guns. Observe from a distance, but do not join the fray. Make a fray of your own. .. In the attempt to make scientific discoveries, every problem is an opportunity — and the more difficult the problem, the greater will be the importance of its solution.”  --  Professor E.O. Wilson, celebrated biologist, Harvard University  https://www.ted.com/talks/e_o_wilson_advice_to_young_scientists?language=en 
• “Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it doesn't matter. Explore the world. Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough.” ― Richard Feynman, Physics Nobel Laureate 
• "Stay foolish, stay hungry." -- Steve Jobs, a techno visionary
• "..it's a question of taking an adequately broad view of economics, along with its neighboring discipline, and it's also a question of paying more attention to those who are most likely to lose when a crisis hits."   Amartya Sen on this century’s challenges  (1998 Nobel Prize Winner in Economics)

Developing Interdisciplinary Community-Engaged Research

Example 1: Interdisciplinary approaches to rebuilding resilient communities

Example 2: Women's empowerment and impact of female hygiene kits

Example 3: Urban ecology, human health, and sustainability through citizen science

Got any other ideas?

Need-driven Research, Research-driven Solution: design, implementation, and evaluation
Nepal Study Center,  May 12, 2016

• Coupled Dynamic of Human and Natural Systems:  (Analysis of urban social ecological systems: health, sanitation, economic activities and urban ecology & eco-system services; solid waste management and recycling; air pollution and traffic congestion)

• WASH  and gender (water, sanitation, and health; female hygiene and its socio-economic consequences --sanitary pads; ground water arsenic and its impact on women's health; cultural norms and health consequences --bathing in Bagmati) 

• Mortality and air pollution (panel and time series analysis using splines and Markov Switching; Mexico City)

• Gender empowerment and maternal and child welbeing  (micro finance, micro health, domestic violence and health consequences) 

• Socio-economic consequences of cancer (Kathmandu Valley and Bharatpur Hospitals; American Cancer Society funded project)

• Monitoring of air, water, and bio-diversity through citizen science and its impact on human health, behavior, awareness , and urban ecology

• Climate change, sustainability, food security and coping strategies (micro crop and cattle insurance; technological adaptation; shed coffee)  http://pnfoundation.org.np/our-projects/bio-park-and-learning-center/ 

• Natural disasters, its impact and building resilient communities (e.g., earthquake,  http://unm4nepal.weebly.com/get-involved.html)   

• Obesity, empty calorie and programmatic interventions (e.g., SNAP)

• Socio-economic consequences of remittance economy

• Multi-dimentional poverty indicator (MPI)

• For past research on food security, maternal health, poverty, global warming, water quality, non-market valuation studies, see  http://nepalstudycenter.unm.edu/ResearchCapacity.htm

• Director, Nepal Study Center, University of New Mexico 

• http://pnfoundation.org.np/our-projects/lumbini-center-for-sustainability/ 

• http://unm4nepal.weebly.com/get-involved.html 

• Annual Himalayan Policy Research Conference 

• Himalayan Study Abroad Program 

• International Partnerships 

• Graduate Research Fellowships 

• Himalayan Research Papers Archive  

• Econometrics
• Development Analytics
• Time Series Analysis
• Mathematical Statistics
• Non-market Valuation Methodology
• Forecasting
• Quantitative Methods
• Research Methodology

• Price, James I. and Alok K. Bohara, “Maternal Healthcare Amid Political Unrest: The Effects of Political Violence on Antenatal Care Utilization in Nepal,” Journal of Health Policy and Planning, 2012, pp. 1-11 (Accepted 2012)
• Nepal, Mani, Alok K. Bohara, and Kishore Gawande, “More Inequality, More Killings: The Maoist Insurgency in Nepal,” The American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 55, No. 4, October 2011, pp. 886 – 903.
• Milligan, Michael A., Alok K. Bohara, and Jos A. Pagn “Assessing Willingness to Pay for Cancer Prevention,” International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics, vol. 10(4), pages 301-314, December 2010
• Milligan, Michael, and Alok K. Bohara. “Consumption from Remittance and Non-Remittance Income in Nepal: A Semiparametric Analysis, Journal of Regional Studies and Development, 2011, Vol 20, No. 2, pp. 123 – 153.
• Bohara Alok K., Arthur J. Caplan, and Therese Grijalva, “The Effect of Experience and Quantity-Based Pricing on the Valuation of a Curbside Recycling Program,” Ecological Economics, Volume 64, Issue 2,-15 December 2007, Pages 433-443.
• List, J., R.P. Berrens, and A. K. Bohara, “Examining the Role of Social Isolation on Stated Preferences,” American Economic Review, Vol. 94, No. 3, June 2004, pp. 741-752.
• Cavlovic, Therese, Robert P. Berrens, Alok K. Bohara, Paul Jakus, and W. Douglas Shaw, “Valuing the Loss of Rock Climbing Access in Wilderness Areas: A National-Level Random Utility Model,” Land Economics, 78 (1)103-120, February 2002.
• Bohara, Alok K., Joe Kerkvliet, and Robert P. Berrens, “Addressing Negative Willingness to Pay in Dichotomous Choice Contingent valuation: A Monte Carlo Simulation Approach,” Environmental and Resource Economics, 3(3), 2001, pp. 173-195.
• Bohara Alok K. Robert P. Berrens, Kishore Gawande, and Pingo Wang, “One Size Doesn't Fit All: Estimating Environmental Kuznets Curves for Hazardous Waste Counts,” Environmetrics, 12, pp. 383-394, 2001.