Dr Siddharth Unnithan Kumar

After training in mathematics, I have been fortunate to work closely with (and have the contours of my mind shaped by) geographers, ecologists, Indigenous scholars, anthropologists, and Buddhist teachers, among others.

This journey, which has been anything but linear, is teaching me how mathematics can play a much deeper, richer, and more widely informed role in environmental research than its existing uses suggest, which are largely guided by ideas from classical physics or economics. The former often sees a world of particle dynamics, mechanical laws of motion, and determinate objects; the latter may look at cost-benefit logics and rational actors; but ecological phenomena are irreducibly more relational, complex, fluid, and alive.

In February 2024, I started a three-year postdoctorate with the University of Exeter's RENEW programme, and have been fortunate to work closely with Kevin Gaston to develop the role of mathematics in ecology. Our primary focus has been thinking through and modelling the ecology of human-nature interactions (see Kevin’s work on personalised ecologies), with particular attention devoted to embodiment and sensory perception. With David Baker, we have also written a mathematical model for spatially prioritising nature recovery decision making, which we named Ebrel (the Cornish word for the month of April) - this was recently used in designing the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Nature Recovery Strategy (see here).

None of this is a solitary endeavour - I am grateful to my friends, family, and teachers, who endlessly inspire me and without whom this journey would not come into being. Among those who have been influential for my work are: David Abram, John O'Donohue, Marilyn Strathern, John Law, Thích Nhất Hạnh, Tim Ingold, Umeek (E. Richard Atleo), Allegra Wint, Yadvinder Malhi, Jamie Lorimer, Andy Stirling, Jalaluddin Rumi, Sam Cushman, and Port Meadow.