People & Awards

Director of the Forest Economics and Resource Management (FERM) Lab

Raju Pokharel, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Forest Resource Economics

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Raju Pokharel is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Forestry at Michigan State University. His research focuses on forest product supply chain and market models, resource availability and utilization, and forest carbon. His current work includes forest carbon analysis; forest carbon knowledge transfer on carbon markets and payments, product and carbon traceability using blockchain technology; assessing the economic tradeoff of timber products under carbon management strategies; forest sector and market analysis and economic impacts of various forest products; and evaluating and developing market opportunities for mass timber, bioenergy, and biochar. He teaches Forest Resources Economics and Forest Management Planning.

Education

  • PhD Forest Resources, Mississippi State University, USA; 2016
  • MBA Business Administration, University of Sunderland, UK; 2011
  • MS and BS Environmental Sciences, Tribhuvan University, Nepal; 2007, 2005

Awards and Recognition 

  • 2025 CANR Early Career Research Award, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Michigan State University
  • 2025 CANR Global Scholar, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Michigan State University
  • 2023 Professional Development Microgrant, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, AgBioResearch, and MSU Extension, Michigan State University
  • 2018 Young Energy Researchers Award, OÖ Energiesparverband and Intelligent Energy Europe Program of the European Union, Young Energy Researcher Conference, World Sustainable Energy Days
  • 2016 David M. Moehring Memorial Outstanding Graduate Student Award, Ph.D. Level, College of Forestry, Mississippi State University

Check out Dr. Pokharel's MSU Faculty Profile | Google Scholar | ResearchGate | LinkedIn

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MSU FERM Lab Team

Fellowships and Scholarships

  • Tara Allohverdi, PhD Student: MSU Graduate Office Fellowship (GFO)
  • Basana Sapkota, PhD Student: MSU C.S. Mott Predoctoral Fellowship in Sustainable Agriculture
  • Ichchha Thapa, PhD Student: Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (MW CASC) Graduate Fellowship

Best Student Presenter Award 

  • Ichchha Thapa, PhD Student, 2023 ISFRE Synopsis, Houston, TX; Presentation Title-"Feedstock supply analysis and optimal locations for mass timber manufacturing in Michigan"
  • Nafisa Nowshin Ahmed, MS Student, 2023 ISFRE Synopsis, Houston, TX; Presentation Title-"Assessing the environmental impacts of proposed biochar production facilities using low value forest biomass in Michigan"

Student Poster Awards

  • Ichchha Thapa, PhD Student, 2023 ISFRE Synopsis, International Society of Forest Resource Economics (ISFRE),Houston, TX (Second Place); Poster Title-"Feedstock Supply & Demand for mass timber manufacturing in Michigan" 
  • Nafisa Nowshin Ahmed, MS Student, 2023 ISFRE Synopsis, International Society of Forest Resource Economics (ISFRE), Houston, TX (Third Place); Poster Title-"Quantifying the environmental impacts of proposed biochar production facilities using forest biomass in Michigan"
  • Nafisa Nowshin Ahmed, MS Student, 2022 SAF Convention, Society of American Foresters, September, Baltimore, MD, USA. (Third Place); Poster Title-"Assessing the prospects of biochar production using forest biomass for building a circular bioeconomy in Michigan"
  • Naresh Khanal, MS Student, 2022 ISFRE Meeting, International Society of Forest Resource Economics (ISFRE), Houston, TX (First Place); Poster Title-"Identifying Optimal Locations for Establishing Mass Timber Processing Facilities in Michigan"

 

FERM Alumni

Graduate Students 

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Naresh Khanal
(MS, 2023)		 Nafisa Ahmed
(MS, 2023)		 Patrick Mohney
(MS, 2024)

Undergraduate Students 

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Josh Magnusson
(2023-2025)
 
Christian Gabler-Loduca
(2022-2023)
 
Ethan Vanantwerp
(2024-2025)
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Leah Jarmolowic
(2025-2026)
 
Wesley Broda
(2025)
  

Research Associates, Research Assistants, and Visiting Scholars

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Shivan Gc, PhD
Senior Research Assistant
(2022-2024)
 
Steve Mitchell John Rajakumar 
Research Assistant
(2023-2024)
 
Prasad Neelawala, PhD
Visiting Scholar (Sri Lanka) 
(2023)