Short CV
My Name is Nazimul Islam and you can call me Nazim. I earned my BSc, first MSc and a Postgraduate diploma qualifications from the Aliah University, Kolkata and Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. After completing my studies in India, I moved to the UK and attended my second MSc degree in River Basin Dynamics and Management with GIS at the School of Geography, University of Leeds. I then returned back to India and joined the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur as a Junior Research Fellow. In September 2020, I was awarded the Swiss Government Excellence scholarship to pursue a PhD at the Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics (IDYST), University of Lausanne, Switzerland and I joined Professor Stuart Lane’s AlpWISE research group as a doctoral candidate and was co-supervised by Prof. Torsten Vennemann. My PhD focused on hydrological reconstructions in the high-altitude Alpine and Himalayan River basins. During my PhD, I received fundings from the Swiss Polar Institute and conducted field-expeditions in the Eastern part of the Indian Himalaya and in the Swiss Alps to collect tree rings and water samples for the stable isotope analyses. I also received several fellowships and spent two months at the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research (LTRR), University of Arizona, USA (Haury Fellowship) and six months at the Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, UK (Doctoral Mobility Fellowship) as international visiting researcher during my PhD. After completing my PhD, I moved to the UK and I am currently working as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK.
Previously I worked with different national and international consultancy firms and institutions both in India and in the United Kingdom. My most recent employment was at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland as Teaching Assistant during the period of my PhD. In India, I worked as a Junior Research Fellow at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, and while I was pursuing my MSc in the UK, I worked at the JBA Consulting as a Junior Flood Modeller (part-time) and also did an internship at the Geocurve Ltd as a Drone Data Analyst.
Besides my academic research, I am also keen to share knowledge through outreach and science communication. I have served the European Geosciences Union (EGU) as the Early Career Scientist Representative (ECS-Rep) for the Climate Division (2021-2024) and I am currently acting as the ECS Co-Rep (2024-present). At the University of Lausanne, I hosted institute’s weekly seminar-series during my PhD and earlier, I was the student representative for the MSc class and the International Students Ambassador at the University of Leeds. I am often engaged in different science outreach activities and share the contents (e.g. academic tutorials, travel and motivational vlogs) in my YouTube channel (Geonaz) and in other social media platforms (e.g. Twitter, LinkedIn, ResearchGate, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook) to motivate fellow students who dream for higher studies.
My primary research interest is in the interactions between glacier retreat and water dynamics for better estimation of available freshwater resources and mitigating water-related risks in the high-mountain regions across the globe. Moreover, I am Keen to promote citizen science initiatives through active participation of indigenous communities living in mountains for developing polices related to glacier preservations and sustainable management of freshwater resources. Please get in touch if you are interested to know more about my research.
Following is a brief summary of my CV;
Education:
Sep 2020- Sep 2024: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Geosciences (awarded in Feb 2025).
Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics (IDYST), University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Sep 2017- Sep 2018: MSc in River Basin Dynamics and Management with GIS, (Merit 2:1)
School of Geography, University of Leeds, United Kingdom
Dissertation Title: Glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) Risk Assessment in the Teesta River Basin
of Sikkim Himalaya India
Jul 2016- Aug 2017: Post-Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Remote Sensing and GIS, (First division with Distinction)
Department of Geography, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India
Dissertation Title: Assessment of rainfall variation and its impact on land use change between the pre and post monsoon in the Middle Teesta Watershed using satellite remote sensing and GIS
Jun 2014- Jun 2016: MSc in Geography, (First division with Distinction)
Department of Geography, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India
Dissertation Title: Urbanization and its impact on Environment: A study of Change Detection in Gautam Budh Nagar (UP) from 1977 to 2016
Jul 2011- May 2014: BSc in Geography (Honours), (First class First)
Department of Geography, Aliah University, Kolkata, India.
Dissertation Title: Assessing the quality of life of urban dwellers living in the Kalyani Municipality area: A socio-economic study approach.
Research Mobility Abroad:
Mar 2023- Aug 2023: Doctoral Mobility
Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Sep 2022- Oct 2022: International Visiting Researcher
Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research (LTRR), University of Arizona, United States of America
Technical Skills:
Tree-Ring Dating and Stable Isotope Analysis
Software and instruments: TSAP-win, CooRecorder, CDendro, COFECHA, ARSTAN, Mass-Spectrometer, Picaro
Remote Sensing and Spatial Data Analysis
Software: Erdas Imagine, ArcMap, QGIS, Pix4D, Agisoft Photoscan
Hydrological Modelling and Programming
Software: HEC-GeoHMS, Arc-SWAT, HEC-RAS, R-Studio, MATLAB
Communication and Leadership Skills:
Mar 2021- Present: ECS Representative, Climate Division, European Geosciences Union (EGU)
Jan 2018- Jan 2019: International Students Ambassador, Link to Leeds, University of Leeds, UK
Sep 2017- Sep 2018: M.Sc. Course Representative, School of Geography, University of Leeds, UK
Jun 2014- Jun 2015: M.Sc. Class Representative, Department of Geography, Jamia Millia Islamia, India
Sep 2020- Present: Student Memberships at the European Geosciences Union (EGU), Swiss Geomorphological Society (SGS), Tree-Ring Society, Association for Tree-Ring Research (ATR), Royal Geographical Society (RGS), British Hydrological Society (BHS), India-UK Water Centre, Aliah University, India
Employment History:
Sep 2024 - Present: Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (PDRF), School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES), University of Birmingham, UK.
Mar 2021 - Aug 2024: Teaching Assistant, Faculty of Geosciences and Environment, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Feb 2019 - Aug 2020: Junior Research Fellow (JRF), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, India.
Oct 2018 - Oct 2018: Drone Data Analyst, Geocurve Ltd., Kelvedon, UK.
Feb 2018 - Aug 2018: Technical Assistant, JBA Consulting, Skipton, UK.
Nov 2017 - Jan 2018: Project Assistant, JBA Consulting, Saltaire, UK.
Oct 2017 - Jan 2018: Store Assistant, Domino's, Burley Road, UK.
Jun 2017 - Jul 2017: GIS Data Analyst, Bombay Suburban Electricity Supply (BSES), New Delhi, India.
Click to find me on