Yajat Goswami is an MPhil researcher at the Climate Change Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia, where his research sits at the intersection of hydrology, climate science and artificial intelligence (AI). His current work focuses on predicting streamflow in river basins where long-term discharge observations are limited or unavailable, by combining meteorological information, physical characteristics of river basins and emerging geospatial representations within large-sample machine-learning models.

His research is part of a government-funded flood resilience initiative developed in response to the 2022 NSW Flood Inquiry, with the NSW State Emergency Service actively helping shape the work around operational needs. A central motivation of his research is to understand not only whether advanced AI models can make accurate predictions, but also when and why they generalise across river basins with different climatic and physical characteristics.

Yajat’s research journey began during his Master of Technology in Artificial Intelligence at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Jalandhar, alongside research at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) applying machine learning and remote sensing to agricultural and environmental challenges. He graduated from NIT Jalandhar with the Gold Medal for achieving the highest academic standing in his cohort, while his research engagement at IISc progressed from an internship to roles as Project Associate and later Project Engineer.

Beyond research, Yajat has a deep personal interest in spirituality and in the interconnectedness between people, nature and the environment. This perspective shapes how he sees science: not only as a way to understand complex systems, but as a means of developing knowledge and technologies that can meaningfully serve society and help protect the Mother Earth we all share.

Looking ahead, Yajat aims to help ensure that advances in science and technology translate into real-world decisions and policies. In the longer term, he hopes to contribute at the interface of science, policy and international cooperation, including through intergovernmental and global organisations working to reduce climate and disaster risks and improve outcomes for both communities and the environment.