Prajukti Bhattacharyya, Ph.D. headshot

Prajukti Bhattacharyya, Ph.D.

Professor of Geology

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Prajukti (Juk) Bhattacharyya is a professor of geology at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She received her PhD from University of Minnesota in 2000. Her research interests include structural geology and geoscience education. She teaches all the lecture and laboratory sections of the large enrollment introductory geology course for non-majors every semester, and also teaches upper level core courses in mineralogy, petrology, and structural geology. Since joining UW-Whitewater she has developed two new courses, titled “Volcanoes” and “Geology and Physics of Iceland,” and revised the existing “Environmental Geology” course to promote earth science education among non-science majors. In all those courses she has incorporated student-designed authentic research activities to promote STEM education. She has co-developed content material for the InTegrate project on Humanities dependence on mineral resources, which is being used by programs nationwide. She has coordinated the UW-Whitewater Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP) from 2014 to 2016, and helped make that program receive statewide and national recognition as a champion for diversity and equity. She has co-led faculty development programs on infusing research in courses, and is an active participant in the geoscience education community. She conducts cross disciplinary collaborative research with her colleagues in humanities and linguistics. She is a member of the Diversity Committee of the Geological Society of America (GSA), and is the former co-chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). Bhattacharyya actively mentors female students, those with visible and invisible disabilities, and students from minoritized backgrounds in STEM disciplines.