Biology alumnus receives Fulbright-National Geographic Award

The College of Wooster biology alumnus Sateesh Venkatesh ’10 was recently named one of five recipients to earn a prestigious Fulbright-National Geographic Award for 2024. Thanks to a partnership between the U.S. Department of State and the National Geographic Society, the award offers up to $20,000 plus a travel and living stipend to support projects that address global issues through science, storytelling, and education.

Now a Ph.D. student at the University of California San Diego, Venkatesh will use his award funding to travel to Sri Lanka in late December and spend nine months expanding his human-wildlife conflict research on the occasionally deadly relationship between farmers and elephants. He plans to use camera traps, audio recordings, and drone mapping to track and document elephant behavior.

“This award allows me to spend more time in Sri Lanka and really get to know the people and animals that I’m working with,” said Venkatesh, who previously spent three months there annually for research. The conservation behaviorist will build connections with farmers next to national parks who experience conflict with elephants because they eat the crops.

Venkatesh credits Wooster for helping to prepare him to be apply community-building skills when working alongside farmers.

Ultimately, he aims to develop mutually beneficial, sustainable solutions for coexistence. “It’s essential we have partnerships with local farmers to help make changes,” explained Venkatesh. “As an elephant researcher, people are always concerned that you care more about the animals than you do about human lives. This funding gives me more time to get to know local farmers better, build some trust, and find solutions together.”

Venkatesh also joins the National Geographic Society’s global community of Explorers where he gains access to resources and opportunities like training, regional Explorer events, speaking engagements, and dedicated mentor and staff support. “Once you’re ‘in’ as a Fulbright Fellow or National Geographic Explorer, you get access to those networks for life,” said Venkatesh. “It’s a really nice benefit.”

Venkatesh studies captive, semi-wild, and purely wild elephants abroad.

Venkatesh has spent significant time studying captive, semi-wild, and purely wild elephants abroad. After completing his biology degree at Wooster, he joined an ethical elephant program in Thailand and gained invaluable experience working in communities with the animals directly. Then as a master’s student at Hunter College in New York, he completed research in Myanmar on an elephant personality project through a partnership with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

He emphasized how the research process he learned at Wooster has been very helpful. “When I did work in Thailand, I realized just how much Wooster puts into methods and how you conduct research,” he said, referencing the College’s signature Independent Study capstone program. “There are not many other undergraduate schools where you are required to do a big project like that and do it independently. I felt very prepared.”

Before landing on a biology major, Venkatesh took a variety of classes—including several in photography and international relations—which have aided his work since and will undoubtedly support the storytelling aspect of this initiative with National Geographic. Even more than the academics, he’s also appreciative of the community-building skills he honed at the College. “Wooster enabled me to start groups and feel like I could develop things on my own,” said Venkatesh. “I grew up in a small town in Massachusetts, so having the opportunity to meet people from so many different places and join various communities like the first-year housing program, Men of DREAM, and others was really valuable and benefited me in the long run.”

Posted in Alumni, Homepage Featured on October 21, 2024.