Designation and Degrees: Professor Pankaj Jain, PhD, पंकज जैन, is a renowned academic leader with international recognition in the fields of Sustainability, Jain Studies, Film Studies, and Diaspora Studies. With over 30 years of experience in academia and the corporate world, he holds the position of Head of Department (HoD) for Humanities and Languages. He serves as the Chair of The India Centre at FLAME University.
Before joining FLAME University, Professor Jain was the founding co-chair of the India Initiatives Group and an Associate Professor in the Departments of Philosophy & Religion and Anthropology at the University of North Texas, a prestigious tier-1 American university. He has made significant contributions to his field, and his expertise has earned him a PhD from the University of Iowa and an M.A. from Columbia University. He also holds a B.E. in Computer Science from Karnatak University.
Books: He is working on his fifth monograph and has coedited the Encyclopedia of Indian Religions (2022) and Indian and Western Philosophical Concepts in Religion (2023). His earlier monographs are Modern Jainism: A Historical Approach (2023), Dharma in America: A Short History of Hindu-Jain Diaspora (2019), award-winning Dharma and Ecology of Hindu Communities: Sustenance and Sustainability (2011), and Science and Socio-Religious Revolution in India: Moving the Mountains (2015).
Articles and Media Presence : His articles and quotes have been featured in esteemed publications such as the Huffington Post, Washington Post, Times of India's Speaking Tree, and Patheos. In addition, Dr Jain is widely quoted in various American and Indian media outlets. In July 2020, the New York Times interviewed him, and in 2019 Morgan Freeman interviewed him for the section on Jainism in the National Geographic series The Story of God.
Accolades: Professor Jain's contributions have been acknowledged with numerous accolades, including the Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship for Environmental Leadership, the Wenner-Gren Grant, and the IIAS Fellowship. In addition, he was nominated for the Sustainability Leadership Award from Memnosyne Institute. His first book has also garnered recognition with a couple of American awards.
Social Media Outreach: Outside of academia, Professor Jain maintains an active social media presence. He can be found on various platforms using the handle @ProfPankajJain. His podcast #DiscoverIndia is on Spotify, Apple, Google, YouTube, Gaana, and other platforms.