Luke Juran
295 West Campus Drive
Blacksburg, VA
24061
My research examines human-environment interactions in the international context. My specific research interests are threefold: (1) human interactions with water resources; (2) human interactions with disasters; and (3) the nexus of humans, water resources, and disaster processes. I am particularly interested in access to water and sanitation services and the reconstruction of water and sanitation infrastructure after disasters.
Much of my experience is in India, but I have also worked, conducted, and/or supervised research in Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Greece, Italy, Malawi, Mauritius, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and the United States. My current projects examine disaster resilient infrastructure at the national level in India, community-level water security in Tamil Nadu, drinking water disinfection at schools in Haryana, and private well water quality in Virginia. These projects involve water quality testing, statistical and geospatial analyses, household surveys, and organizing workshops, focus groups, and interviews.
My teaching explores socio-ecological relationships—often from a critical perspective—with content from our backyard in Virginia to far reaches of the globe. My courses tend to focus on contemporary issues related to water resources, disasters, human rights, and environmental justice. Feel free to contact me at ljuran@vt.edu or via my personal webpage to discuss educational and research opportunities.
Dr. Luke Juran holds a joint appointment as Associate Professor of the Human Ecology of Water at the Virginia Water Resources Research Center and Affiliate Faculty at the Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens in the Fralin Life Sciences Institute.
Areas of Expertise:
- Human Ecology of Water
- WASH and PoU Treatment
- Disasters
- Disaster Reconstruction
- India and South Asia
Education:
- Ph.D. - University of Iowa, 2012 (two years at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras)
- M.A. - University of Iowa, 2008
- B.A. - University of Northern Iowa, 2003
- Water, Environment & Society (GEOG/WATR 2004)
- Environmental Problems, Population & Development (GEOG 3104)
- Interdisciplinary Issues & Ethics in Water Resources (GEOG/GEOS 4134)
- Advanced Interdisciplinary Issues & Ethics in Water Resources (GEOG 5134 / GEOS 5844)
- Emily Wilcox. 2023. M.S. Assessing the impacts of a water, sanitation, and hygiene intervention on changing behaviorin Bihar, India.
Professor(s): Luke Juran - Jen Kern. 2021. M.S. Modelling Hydrologic System Change in a Paraglacial Catchment in the Northern Rocky Mountains
Professor(s): Luke Juran and Lynn Resler - Veronica Scott. 2019. M.S. Strontium in Drinking Water: Assessing Strontium as a Drinking Water Contaminant in Virginia Private Wells.
Professor(s): Luke Juran and Erin J. Ling - Sanam Aksha. 2018. Ph.D. Assessing Vulnerability and Multi-Hazard Risk in the Nepal Himalaya
Professor(s): Luke Juran and Lynn Resler - Breeanna Prince. 2018. M.S. Access to Water: Advancement of Multidimensional, Multiscalar, and Participatory Methods of Measurement in the Global South
Professor(s): Luke Juran - Julia Sherry. 2017. M.S. Perceptions of Water Services and Innovations to Improve Water Services in Tanzania
Professor(s): Luke Juran - J.T. Bandzuh. 2016. M.S. Perceptions of Measures to Control Aedes Mosquitoes and Mosquito-Borne Diseases in Costa Rica
Professor(s): Luke Juran and Korine Kolivras
Higher Education Partnership for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (HEP-DRI)
Sponsor: United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Amount: $5,000,000 (Co-PI)
2024-Present
Scholars Program
Sponsor: Institute for Society, Culture & Environment, Virginia Tech
Amount: $29,998 (PI)
2022-2023
COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund
Sponsor: Office of the Vice President for Research & Innovation, Virginia Tech
Amount: $34,192 (Co-PI)
2020
COVID-19 Rapid Response Seed Grant
Sponsor: Institute for Creativity, Arts & Technology, Virginia Tech
Amount: $10,000 (Co-PI)
2020
India Faculty Travel Grant
Sponsor: Manodharma
Amount: $5,900 (PI)
2018
New Investigator Program
Sponsor: NASA and Virginia Space Grant Consortium
Amount: $10,000 (PI)
2015-2016
Curriculum Globalization Grant
Sponsor: Virginia Tech
Amount: $5,000 (PI)
2015
4VA Mini-Grant
Sponsor: Commonwealth of Virginia
Amount: $5,000 (Co-PI)
2013-2014
CARTHA and Johnson County Community Foundation
Amount: $3,000 (Co-PI)
2013-2014
- Juran, L. & B.K. Paul (eds.) (Under Contract). The Routledge handbook of disaster mitigation & preparedness. London: Routledge Press.
- Paul, B.K. & L. Juran (eds.) (In Press). The Routledge handbook of disaster response & recovery. London: Routledge Press.
- Juran, L., E. Wilcox, M. Albritton, J.A. Smith, J. Harris, A. Cohen, L.M. Sharma, Y. Gautam (2024). Effectiveness of the upscaled use of a silver-ceramic (silver ionization) technology to disinfect drinking water in tanks at schools in rural India. Journal of Water & Health 22(11): 2233-2245.
- Juran, L., R. Oliver, D.C. Read (2022). Water sector reconstruction for post-disaster housing settlements: a tale of two governance models. In Resilient water management strategies in urban settings: innovations in decentralized water infrastructure systems, T. Younos, J. Lee, T. Parece (eds.), 227-243. Switzerland: Springer Water.
- Prince, B.C., L. Juran, V. Sridhar, A. Bukvic, M.C. MacDonald (2021). A statistical and spatial analysis of water poverty using a modified Water Poverty Index. International Journal of Water Resources Development 37(2): 339-356.
- Scott, V., L. Juran, E.J. Ling, B. Benham, A. Spiller (2020). Assessing strontium and vulnerability to strontium in private drinking water systems in Virginia. Water 12(4): doi:10.3390/w12041053.
- Aksha, S.K., L.M. Resler, L. Juran, L.W. Carstensen (2020). A geospatial analysis of multi-hazard risk in Dharan, Nepal. Geomatics, Natural Hazards & Risk 11(1): 88-111.
- Juran, L., E.A. Adams, S. Prajapati (2019). Purity, pollution, and space: barriers to latrine adoption in post-disaster India. Environmental Management 64(4): 456-469.
- Aksha, S.K., L. Juran, L.M. Resler, Y. Zhang (2019). An analysis of social vulnerability to natural hazards in Nepal using a modified Social Vulnerability Index. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science 10(1): 103-116.
- Adams, E.A., L. Juran, I. Ajibade (2018). 'Spaces of exclusion' in community water governance: a feminist political ecology of gender and participation in Malawi's urban water user associations. Geoforum 95: 133-142.
- Juran, L., M.C. MacDonald, N.B. Basu, S. Hubbard, R. Rajagopal, P. Rajagopalan, L. Philip (2017). Development and application of a multi-scalar, participant-driven Water Poverty Index in post-tsunami India. International Journal of Water Resources Development 33(6): 955-975.