Sayanangshu is a doctoral candidate in the School of Geography, Development and Environment at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. His dissertation examines how governance innovations for restoration emerge – or are constrained – in complex river delta systems. Before beginning his PhD in 2022, he worked with two organisations in India: the Observer Research Foundation (2018–2022), where he focused on policy research and communication in transboundary water governance, and the Foundation for Ecological Security (2016–2018), where he gathered evidence on community-managed land and water commons in semi-arid regions.
Over the years, his research has explored what enables or hinders cooperation between people, communities, federal constituents, and nations in governing shared water resources, particularly within the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) landscape of Asia. Committed to bridging research and policy, he contributes articles and opinion pieces to leading outlets and has been interviewed on topics such as flood governance and transboundary water management.
He holds an M.Sc. in Water Policy and Governance from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and a B.Sc. in Geography from Presidency University, Kolkata. Beyond academia, Sayanangshu enjoys biking around Tucson, often chasing sunsets among the towering saguaros of the Sonoran Desert.