Congratulations to Hozumi Oshida, Cameron Jewett, and Shreya Ramineni, students part of Assistant Professor Bharat Venkat’s Heat Lab, for winning the 2021 Library Prize for Undergraduate Research. They will be presenting their research as part of UCLA Undergraduate Research Week on May 25th.

The Undergraduate Research & Creativity Showcase is UCLA’s premier undergraduate research event. Hundreds of students will gather here on the Undergraduate Research Week website to share their work on student-initiated and faculty-led research and creative projects in livestreamed panels  and as recorded presentations and multimedia throughout the week. Students will share 5-10 minute presentations of their work, followed by Q&A with visitors. Presentations are organized into panels by topic during Sessions A, B, and C.

Please see more detailed info on each of their presentations below:

Project Title:  Heat Related Illness in South Los Angeles

Author Line:   HOZUMI OSHIDA, CAMERON JEWETT

Abstract or Artist Statement Text: Not all heat is created equal. Thermal inequity has long been a big problem in sunny Los Angeles. In Historic South Central LA, temperatures are regularly several degrees hotter than the citywide average. This has implications for heat-related illnesses in the neighborhood, especially regarding coronary heart disease and diabetes. This alongside the dearth of hospitals and cooling centers in the neighborhood has severe consequences for residents of Historic South Central LA.

Project Title:  Impacts of Colonial Scientific Narratives and Technologies on Heat Vulnerability in India

Author Line:   SHREYA RAMINENI

Abstract or Artist Statement Text: Climate change-related science and policy tend to focus on the mitigation of environmental effects but do not always address its impacts on human bodies, or include the role of socio-historical institutions both in how climate change is felt, and in how proposed adaptations will be realistically distributed and adopted. In the case of India, there are gaps in the infrastructure and data on how heat stress is physiologically felt and socially understood by South Asian communities, which can impact the equity of these interventions.Therefore, how have the enduring legacies of “suitability,” as legitimized by the development of colonial technologies and knowledge in response to unfamiliar climates, produced current vulnerability to heat illness? I conducted a deep dive into archival materials, epidemiological studies, and climate change vulnerability studies. From this, I found evidence that colonial scientific paradigms have historical and social significance on how heat, climate, and illness is understood today in India. Furthermore, the lack of literature on the lived experiences of South Asians with heat, especially when analyzing their vulnerability to climate change, is significant and hinders interventions from being able to adequately improve mortality from heat illness. Understanding how heat adaptation technologies used during colonial times, as well as the present day, are built into cultural interpretations of climate in India, is a starting point for addressing heat stress with interdisciplinary approaches.

To read more about the showcase, please click here.