Meet the UVA Student Researching the Intersection of Women Leaders, Climate, and Global Impact

Chris Babcock is a PhD student helping lead a global study in vulnerable regions of India to improve communities’ responses to climate change.

In Bihar, India, a team of UVA researchers are empowering elected women representatives as they promote sustainable water resource management and explore ways to increase flood resiliency in their communities. The team, known as the MEGHA Climate Collaborative, is supported by the UVA Environmental Institute and comprises researchers across the globe – including a graduate student based in Charlottesville at UVA.

Chris Babcock is a third-year PhD student in Economics and has been working as part of the MEGHA Climate Collaborative for the past year. The Institute checked in with Babcock to get his thoughts on his role, the research, and what he has learned.

Q: Why did you become involved in the MEGHA Climate Collaborative?

BABCOCK: I got involved with the MEGHA Climate Collaborative at the start of my second year when I was looking to get more hands-on experience in development research. The project immediately stood out – it focuses on supporting women leaders in flood-prone, economically vulnerable areas, so it sits right at the intersection of climate and development economics in a very applied way.

Chris Babcock is a research assistant on the MEGHA Climate Collaborative team, seeking to empower locally elected women leaders in India to address resilience and sustainability issues. (Photo contributed.)

Q: Can you please explain your role and research goals with the MEGHA Climate Collaborative?

BABCOCK: The project is a randomized controlled trial studying the effects of training programs for locally elected women leaders in India. I work as a research assistant with Professor Sheetal Sekhri, where I help manage a lot of the day-to-day research operations.

I lead a small team that includes a predoc and an undergraduate, coordinate regularly with our implementation partner—the Centre for Catalyzing Change—and work closely with the survey teams on the ground in India. I’m also heavily involved in the data side of the project and do a large share of the data management and analysis.

At a high level, we’re trying to understand whether targeted training can improve governance and help communities better respond to climate-related challenges.

Q: What is something you have learned so far that has surprised you?

BABCOCK: I didn’t fully appreciate how much coordination goes into a project like this before being part of it. Professor Sekhri leads the project, but it’s really a large, interdisciplinary effort with collaborators in economics, engineering, geography, and even music.

Running a research team across countries means constantly coordinating people, time zones, and institutions. It’s been a great learning experience in how research actually gets executed in practice, not just on paper.

Q: Why do you think this work is important?

BABCOCK: This work focuses on groups that are often underrepresented: women leaders, low-income communities, and areas that are especially vulnerable to climate shocks. There’s a lot of discussion around these issues, but less rigorous evidence on what actually works.

What I find compelling is that this project is trying to answer that directly, and whether these kinds of training interventions lead to meaningful, measurable improvements. If they do, it creates a real opportunity to scale something that can make a difference on the ground.

Q: What else at UVA do you enjoy and engage in?

BABCOCK: Outside of academics, I try to stay active. I play tennis and pickleball around UVA, and I’m part of a Bible study group where I’ve built some close friendships. I also serve as a flight instructor in the U.S. Navy Reserve, which has been a meaningful way to stay connected to service while in graduate school.

Outside of UVA, my favorite thing is spending time with my daughter. Beyond that, I enjoy hiking when I can and slowly working on renovations to my house.