Rahul Pillai is a doctoral scholar at IIT Madras, where he works in the field of environmental anthropology. In his dissertation, titled “Seeking Sustainability: An Ethnographic Study of Two Farms in South India”, he looks at sustainability as an everyday practice grafted onto projects of artisanal agriculture. In this, he is broadly interested in the conceptualisation of sustainability as an ethical practice in the time of the Anthropocene climate crisis. His research interests also include economic anthropology, postwork futurism, and critical theory.

Rahul holds a postgraduate degree in Literature from the University of Hyderabad and an undergraduate degree in English, Journalism, and Psychology from St. Joseph’s University, Bangalore. His publications include both academic and journalistic articles.

Among the latter, his piece titled, “The Two-Finger Test Doesn’t Work? No One Told The Medical Colleges” earned him the Priyanka Dahale award for Young Journalists by Laadli Media. His professional experience includes work as an Instructional Designer at Deloitte USI and an Assistant Professor of English Language and Literature at Kristu Jayanti College, Bangalore.