About Me

Kabindra Shakya

I am an environmental scientist and Associate Professor of Environmental Science in the Department of Geography and the Environment at Villanova University. My research focuses on outdoor and indoor air pollution, specifically particulate matter, ozone, and nitrogen oxides. I also study trace metal contaminants, also known as heavy metals such as lead, in soils from community gardens, residential areas, and parks. I am also interested in environmental justice and in exploring environmental and sustainability challenges in developing countries.

I have published over 40 scientific articles and regularly serve as a reviewer for scientific journals. I have received research funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP). I have reviewed research grant proposals and contributed as an associate editor for scientific journals.

Please email me if you need further information at kabindra.shakya@villanova.edu.

ResearchGate Profile 

Google Scholar Profile

LinkedIn Profile

Education

  • Ph.D. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA. Dissertation title: ‘Characterization of Atmospheric Aerosols in Kathmandu, New Hampshire, and Texas: Carbonaceous, Isotopic, and Water-soluble Organic Composition’
  • M.S. (Environmental Science). Chiang Mai University, Thailand.
  • M.S. (Botany) and B.S. (Chemistry and Biology), Tribhuvan University, Nepal.

Previous Positions

  • Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and the Environment, Villanova University, PA (2016-2022)
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst (2012-2016)
  • Postdoctoral Scholar. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego (2011-2012)
  • Postdoctoral Scholar. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University (2011-2011)

Teaching

I have taught the following courses at Villanova University:

  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Air Pollution
  • Environmental Pollution
  • Indoor Air Quality and Human Health
  • Research Methods in Environmental Science
  • Ecosystem Service Learning
  • Environmental Science I
  • Senior Research Seminar
  • Intro to Sustainability Studies
  • Research Colloquium
  • Environmental Health (Guest Lectures)
  • Planetary Global Health (Guest Lectures)

Grants

  • Marco-Bujosa, L., Goldsmith, S.T., Shakya, K.M. Research Catalyst Grant (RCG). Villanova University. US$35,000. 2025-2026.
  • Shakya, K.M. [PI for subaward at Villanova]. United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) STAR Grant. US$1,986,840 (Villanova subaward: US$ 367,943)  2024-2027. Terminated on 5/1/2025.
  • Shakya, K.M. [PI for subaward at Villanova]. Overbrook Breathe Right Community Air Monitoring Project. United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). Subaward: $130,529 (Total: $333,121). 2023-2025.
  • Shakya, K.M., Goldsmith, S., Smith, D., McDermott-Levy, R. Establishment of a community based participatory research (CBPR) program to manage lead exposure risks in a Hispanic neighborhood. VERITAS Award, Villanova University. $20,000. 2022-2024.
  • Shakya, K.M. (Mentor). AGILE grant to support visiting undergraduate student at Villanova. ~$20,000. Summer 2022 and 2023.
  • Shakya, K.M. VITAL Minigrant, Villanova University. 2022.
  • Shakya, K.M. Faculty Research and Development Grant, Villanova University. 2019 and 2022.
  • Klassner, F., Shakya, K.M. [Co-PI], Smith, V. Enhancing the augmented reality sandbox’s software and hardware to support quantitative simulation for STEM education. National Science Foundation (NSF). $300,000. 2022-2025.
  • Shakya, K.M. [Lead PI], Eggler, A. Cellular effects of subway air particles in human lung cells. National Institutes of Health (NIH). $346,692. 2021-2024.
  • Goldsmith, S., Shakya, K.M. [Co-PI], Boschi, V., Marco-Bujosa, L. An immersive urban environmentla geochemistry research experience as a pathway to careers in the geosciences. National Science Foundation (NSF). $399,155. 2021-2024.
  • Kremer, P., Shakya, K.M. [Co-PI]. The multi-dimensional structure of urban landscapes and the supply and distribution of ecosystem services. National Science Foundation (NSF). $200,007. 2018-2022.
  • Shakya, K.M. [PI]. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. 2019-2023.
  • Shakya, K.M. Villanova University Summer Grant Program. 2020-2021.
  • Shakya, K.M., Kremer, P. Villanova University Summer Grant Program. 2017-2018.

Service

  • Member, Evaluation Committee for Villanova University Summer Grant (USG). 2024-present.
  • Member, Villanova University Strategic Initiative for Climate, Justice, and Sustainability (SICJS) Research and Scholarship Subcommittee. 2024-present.
  • Member, Upper Merion Township Environmental Advisory Council, PA., 2018-present.
  • Board Member, Centro de Cultura, Arte, Trabajo Y Educacion (CCATE), Norristown, PA, 2021-present. 
  • Member, Faculty Research and Development Grant Committee, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Villanova University. 2023-present.
  • Chair, Curriculum Assessment Committee, Department of Geography and the Environment, Villanova University. 2019-present.
  • Member, University Summer Grant Review Committee,  Villanova University. 2024-present.
  • Program Director, Environmental Science Program, Department of Geography and the Environment, Villanova University. 2021-2024. 
  • Member, Faculty Evaluation Committee, Department of Geography and the Environment, Villanova University. 2022-2024.

Editorial Service

  • Associate Editor. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. https://www.springer.com/journal/13412
  • Editorial Board Member. Discover Cities. https://link.springer.com/journal/44327
  • Editorial Board Member. Sustainability. https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability
  • Editorial Board Member. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. https://www.springer.com/journal/44169
  • Guest Editor, Special Issue “Air Pollution Monitoring and Environmental Sustainability”. 

Review Service

Reviewed grants

  • National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences, USA
  • National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships, USA
  • evertéa Foundation. Préserver la santé humaine et environmentale par la rechercher. Valence, France
  • LE STUDIUM Loire Valley Institute for Advanced Studies, Orleans, France
  • Villanova Undergraduate Research Fellowships (VURFs), Villanova University

Reviewed manuscripts for journals

  • Aerosol and Air Quality Research
  • Atmosphere, MDPI
  • Atmospheric Environment, Elsevier
  • Atmospheric Pollution Research, Elsevier
  • Building and Environment, Elsevier
  • BMC Public Health
  • Case Studies on Transport Policy, Elsevier
  • Current Pollution Reports, Springer Nature
  • Energy and Built Environment
  • Environments, MDPI
  • Environmental Advances, Elsevier
  • Environmental Challenges, Elsevier
  • Environmental Health Perspectives
  • Environmental Microbiome, Springer Nature 
  • Environmental Science and Policy, Elsevier
  • Environmental Pollution, Elsevier
  • Environmental Science and Pollution Research, Springer Nature
  • Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, Royal Society of Chemistry 
  • Environmental Science and Technology, American Chemical Society 
  • Environmental Science and Technology Letters, American Chemical Society 
  • Geosciences, MDPI
  • Journal of Environmental Quality, Wiley
  • Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer
  • Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, Nature Publishing Group
  • Journal of Geophysical Research – Earth Surface
  • Journal of Soils and Sediments, Elsevier
  • Indoor Air, Wiley
  • International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, MDPI
  • International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, Taylor & Francis
  • International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, Elsevier 
  • PeerJ 
  • Public Health Nursing
  • Radiation Protection Dosimetry, Oxford University Press
  • Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment, Elsevier
  • Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Springer
  • Sensors, MDPI 
  • Social Sciences, MDPI
  • Soil and Environmental Health, Elsevier
  • Sustainability, MDP