Fresno State prof provides solutions to trash challenges at global TechCamp

In his early work, Dr. Mohan Dangi traveled to Kathmandu, Nepal to work with K-12 schools and Tribhuvan University, the national university of Nepal, to develop renewable energy curricula. That’s where, as he walked through the narrow corridors of the medieval city, he found what would become his life’s work — trash. 

“Everywhere, I felt the impact of garbage, heaps and heaps of garbage,” said Dangi, a professor of geography and city and regional planning at Fresno State. “That’s when I felt, yes, developing curricula is important. Yes, training teachers is important, but what’s more important is doing something about the trash. So, I’m going to shift my direction from renewable energy to trash.”

Dangi would go on to earn a master’s in environmental science and engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, a second master’s and Ph.D. in geography and environmental engineering from Johns Hopkins University, and become a leading expert worldwide in waste management. In addition to Nepal, he’s traveled to Madagascar and countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East to teach and advise governments about the best practices in waste management. 

In September, Dangi was invited by the United States Consul General in Mumbai and Symbiosis International University, to speak at the “Re-Designing Sustainable Urban Waste Management” TechCamp in India. The public diplomacy program is hosted by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State and held in different locations around the world. 

Participants in TechCamp identify real-world challenges and solutions. The four-day camp in India brought together 45 people, including technocrats, policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, and various stakeholders, in the western city of Pune. There, Dangi spoke about sustainable urban waste management subject to economic constraints. 

“Many landfills in India are out of life, out of capacity,” Dangi said. “There’s a problem with how to close these old landfills. There are public health implications, so there has to be a thorough closure of landfills. That’s where they need some help.”

Not one method will work, he said, and what is done in the United States won’t necessarily work in India. The solution has to be amicable to local conditions, its society, its people and its families, Dangi said. 

Dangi is known for his research on municipal solid waste management in low-income countries, particularly in Nepal, his home country, and is an expert in curriculum development. His work has led to nine memoranda of understanding between the United States and Nepali universities. He has developed and reinvented nine courses for Fresno State and other institutions and has led several study abroad courses in Nepal with students from Fresno State and the University of Wyoming.

In 2021, he was one of 14 senior professors selected nationwide for the prestigious Jefferson Science Fellowship in which he served as the environmental sustainability adviser for the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance. 

Dangi was also a Fulbright U.S. Scholar and received a Fulbright Specialist Award and the Embassy Science Fellowship.