The American Association of Geographers has named Bren School Professor Jayajit Chakraborty a recipient of the 2026 E. Willard and Ruby S. Miller Award, one of the organization's most distinguished recognitions for contributions to geographic research and teaching.
Chakraborty holds the Mellichamp Chair in Racial Environmental Justice at the Bren School and has built a career at the intersection of geography, environmental health, and environmental policy. His research examines how environmental hazards and disasters fall unevenly across communities and what policy changes are needed to address those inequities. That work has earned recognition both inside and outside academia: he was recently included in the Stanford-Elsevier ranking of the world's most cited researchers, placing in the top 2% in his subfield of geography.
Beyond his scholarship, Chakraborty has been a consistent presence in federal environmental policymaking, serving on multiple U.S. Environmental Protection Agency advisory committees, often as the only geographer at the table. He has also mentored dozens of graduate and undergraduate students, with a particular commitment to supporting first-generation and underrepresented students through research and co-authorship opportunities.
How does this award reflect Chakraborty's broader impact?
The Miller Award recognizes not just research output but the full arc of a scholar's contributions to a field. Chakraborty's selection reflects his standing across multiple dimensions: as a widely cited researcher, a federal science advisor, and a mentor to a generation of students in geography and environmental justice.
