Udita Sanga
Researcher | Educator | Systems Thinker | Artist
Food · Ecology · Climate · Adaptation · Transformation
Assistant Professor, Food Systems, Climate & Sustainability
Johar!
I am an interdisciplinary systems scientist working at the intersection of food systems, agriculture, ecology, climate adaptation, and social-ecological transformation. I study how people and communities navigate change and uncertainty and how knowledge, relationships, and choices shape the ways food systems evolve and the futures they make possible.
My work spans South Asia, West Africa, and New England and brings together systems science, community-engaged research, and creative approaches to understanding complex social-ecological change.
RESEARCH THEMES
Connecting people, knowledge, environments, and systems.
Climate, Food Systems & Sustainability
I study the interconnected relationships between climate, food systems, livelihoods and ecological change. My research examines how people and communities navigate and adapt to change and uncertainity.
Systems Modelling
I use systems thinking and computational modelling to make complex relationships, feedbacks, and emergent dynamics visible. My work combines approaches such as systems mapping, agent-based modelling, and system dynamics modelling to explore how decisions and interactions can generate different system trajectories.
Food Transformations
I explore how food systems and foodways evolve in response to environmental change, shifting livelihoods, markets, policies, technologies, and cultural change. I am particularly interested in exploring transformative pathways towards more resilient, equitable and sustainable futures.
Participatory action-based research
My work is grounded in participatory and community-based approaches that recognize communities as knowledge holders and partners in the research process. I use interviews, storytelling, participatory systems mapping, and other collaborative methods to understand lived experiences, local knowledge, and community perspectives on change.
Bridging research & art
Research is one way of understanding the world. Writing, drawing, mapping, listening, and storytelling are others. I am interested in the spaces between these forms of knowledge and in how they can help us see food systems, landscapes, and possible futures differently. You can find my creative voice here →