When the fall semester opened at Texas Tech, Badri Ghimire stepped into a classroom with some uncertainty. A doctoral student in the Department of Natural Resources Management, he had been assigned to teach Geographic Information Systems in Natural Resource Management. By spring, that uncertainty had given way to distinction.
The recognition, among the institution’s prominent honors for graduate instructors, is awarded to part-time teachers who demonstrate exceptional classroom performance and scholarly promise.
Ghimire, a native of Nepal, was recently named a recipient of the university’s Helen Devitt Jones Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award for Spring 2026, in the category of wildlife, aquatic and wildlands science management. The recognition, among the institution’s prominent honors for graduate instructors, is awarded to part-time teachers who demonstrate exceptional classroom performance and scholarly promise.
For Ghimire, the accolade marked an early but positive affirmation of his transition from student to instructor. “Receiving this award is a true honor,” he said. “Teaching GIS has allowed me to connect scientific concepts with real-world applications in natural resources management, while continuing to grow as both an educator and researcher in fire ecology"
The award will be formally presented during the university’s annual spring recognition ceremony, where recipients are honored for contributions that extend beyond coursework into mentorship and academic leadership. The prize is supported by the Helen Jones Foundation, a philanthropic entity that funds fellowships and scholarships aimed at cultivating the next generation of educators and researchers.
Before arriving in West Texas, Ghimire completed both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in environmental science at Tribhuvan University in Nepal. He later earned a second master’s degree in biological sciences from California State University, Chico, broadening a research portfolio that now spans fire ecology, wood anatomy and plant-animal interactions.
At Texas Tech, his academic trajectory has been guided by Nathan Gill, an associate professor whose work explores fire ecology and management, forest dynamics and pyrogeography – the study of wildfire patterns across time and space. Gill leads the department’s Landscape Ecology & Fire Laboratory, where research efforts converge on understanding how fire shapes ecosystems and how those systems, in turn, influence fire behavior.
Within the lab, Ghimire is part of a broader mission that extends beyond research alone. The group is engaged in training future fire ecologists and land managers, while also investigating how varied landscapes and fire regimes create both risks and opportunities. Another central focus is the study of socio-ecological impacts of wildfire, particularly across temperate forests and rangelands.
CONTACT: Richard Stevens, Chair & Caeser Kleberg Endowed Professor of Wildlife Conservation, Department of Natural Resources Management, Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-6843 or richard.stevens@ttu.edu
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