Kentucky State Graduate Student Earns 2025 KentuckyView Fellowship

Award recognizes excellence in geospatial research and environmental science

Kentucky State University graduate student Santosh Rajbanshi has been named the 2025 recipient of the KentuckyView Graduate Fellowship Award, a statewide honor that recognizes outstanding promise in geospatial scholarship and service.

Rajbanshi is pursuing his M.S. in Environmental Studies, which he began in Spring 2024 under the mentorship of Dr. Maheteme Gebremedhin, chair of the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

His graduate thesis examines how plants such as switchgrass, tall fescue, hairy vetch, and

sericea lespedeza can restore soils contaminated by coal fly ash. He also applies Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing to study land use change, vegetation dynamics, and reclamation success in disturbed landscapes.

Earlier this year, Rajbanshi presented a project on land cover change and future modeling in Nepal at the Nepali Academics in America conference in North Carolina.

“Receiving the KentuckyView Fellowship allows me to advance my research and apply geospatial technologies to solve pressing environmental challenges,” Rajbanshi said. “I am deeply grateful to Dr. Buddhi Gyawali for nominating me for this award and to Dr. Suraj Upadhaya for mentoring me in my research projects.”

The fellowship, coordinated through Murray State University as part of AmericaView, provides support to graduate and undergraduate students whose work incorporates GIS, remote sensing, and spatial analysis. By investing in student research, KentuckyView advances the use of Earth observation data for science, resource management, and decision-making.

In the award notification, KentuckyView Director Dr. Haluk Cetin congratulated Rajbanshi and wished him continued success.

Dr. Gebremedhin praised the recognition as a reflection of both individual excellence and the strength of Kentucky State’s programs. “This award reflects Santosh’s dedication, the guidance of colleagues such as Dr. Gyawali, and the commitment of our School to fostering student success,” he said.

Rajbanshi will receive a $500 award issued by Murray State University on behalf of KentuckyView.