Faculty
Dhaarna
Assistant Professorhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-dhaarna-86787b111/
Dr. Dhaarna is an architect-planner and completed her Ph.D. from the IIT, Roorkee. She is working as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Planning, CEPT University, Ahmedabad, and worked at NICMAR University, Pune. She was awarded the GATE, MHRD, and Newton-Bhabha Scholarship. She was a Visiting Scholar at the University of the West of England, Bristol. She completed her Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the CEPT, Ahmedabad, and B. Arch from Aligarh Muslim University. She possesses professional experience in the disciplines of community mobilization, rural development, urban and regional planning, WASH, and policy planning at the national, regional, and local levels. She teaches courses related to Urban Planning, Architecture, Environment & Sustainable Development, GIS, Placemaking, and Research Methods & Statistics. Her research encompasses topics like water-energy-food nexus, policy planning, systems approach, GIS, sustainable development, decarbonization, UHI, urban and regional planning, rural development, and WASH.
Education
| Degree | Institution | Field | Year of Completion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ph.D. | IIT Roorkee | Planning for Water-energy-food nexus for the sustainable development of Bundelkhand Region | 2022 |
| MURP | CEPT Ahmedabad | Urban & regional planning | 2016 |
| B-Arch | Aligarh Muslim University | Architecture | 2014 |
Areas of Expertise
Water-energy-food nexus~GIS & Spatial Planning~Environment & Sustainable Development~Urban & Regional Planning~Systems Approach~UHI & Decarbonization~Policy Planning~Rural Development
Courses Taught
| Sr No. | Course Name | Semester |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GIS and Spatial Planning | 1st and 3rd (PG) |
| 2 | LAP Studio | 1st (PG) |
| 3 | Research Methods and statistics | 2nd and 3rd (PG) |
| 4 | Social Values in Placemaking | 2nd (PG) |
| 5 | Environmental Studies | 1st (UG) |
| 6 | Architectural Design-I | 1st (UG) |
| 7 | History of Architecture | 1st (UG) |
| 8 | Principles and practices of Ecosystem | 1st (PG) |
| 9 | Integrated Habitat Assessment | 4th (PG) |
| 10 | Sustainable Real Estate | 4th (PG) |
| 11 | Sustainable Construction | MBA-L&T |
Research Articles and Book Chapters in Areas of Expertise
- Municipal Governance: A Study of small & medium towns of Uttar Pradesh (2017)- Article (Urban Panorama)
- Water Resource Management by using System Dynamics in Ahmedabad City (2021)- Book Chapter (Springer)
- System analysis of Water-Energy-Food Nexus of Bundelkhand Region, India (2022)- Article (Blue Green Systems) https://doi.org/10.2166/bgs.2022.012
- Water, energy and food nexus for sustainable development of the Bundelkhand region (2023)- Book Chapter
- Stakeholder Opinion-based Development Index (SODI): An empirical study of people’s perspective in the purview of Water-Energy-Food Nexus (2023)- Article (Environment, Development, and Sustainability) doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-03065-8
- A descriptive analysis of human-environment interactions in the suburbs of Pune City (2024)- Article (Environmental Research, Engineering and Management) doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.80.3.35469
- A Systematic Review and Trend Analysis of Urban Heat Island (2025)- Article (NICMAR Journal of Construction Management)
- Matrix representation of the graph model for conflict resolution based on intuitionistic preferences with applications to transregional water resource conflicts in the Lancang–Mekong River Basin (2025)- Article (Information Sciences) doi.org/10.1016/j.ins.2024.121615
Presented Papers and Invited Lectures in Areas of Expertise
- Guided 9 Master's theses from M-Plan, MBA-ACM, MBA-REUIM, MBA-APM
- Presented 14 papers in different national and international conferences
- Reviewed 8 research papers for different journals/conferences/books
Invites
- Session Chair: International Conference on Religious Architecture (ICRA 2024)- NIT Patna (Session: Planning of Religious Complexes - III) - Dec 30, 2024
- Expert lecture: Faculty Development Program- NIT Warangal (Topic: Literature Review and Data Collection Techniques)- Dec 18, 2024
Professional Honors, Prizes, Fellowships, Grant-in Aids
Scholarships
- Newton Bhabha Ph.D. Placement Programme, British Council (2021)
- MHRD Scholarship for PhD (2017-2022)
- GATE Scholarship for Postgraduation (2014-2016)
Honors
- Individual Honorary membership, IUCEE (2025)
- Best Teaching Practices Award, CEAP, NICMAR University, Pune (2024)
- Best Institute Research Award, IIT Roorkee (2022)
- Academic Secretary, CEPT University, Ahmedabad (2015-2016)
- Cultural Secretary, ZHCET, Aligarh Muslim University (2012-13)
- Prizes in various cultural, sports, and academic events