Our Team

Guneet Kaur | Director

Dr. Guneet Kaur is an Associate Professor in Biological Engineering at the College of Engineering, University of Guelph, Canada. Before joining University of Guelph, she held faculty positions at York University (Canada) and Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU, Hong Kong). Her research focusses on the design of innovative, circular, and carbon-neutral biotechnological solutions to contribute meaningfully to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) specifically SDG 7, 9, 11, and 12, for capturing and transforming waste carbon from solid wastes and wastewater streams to bioproducts, precision fermentation, and renewable energy generation for climate change adaptation.

Zuhrain Shahbaz | CIRCLE Coordinator

Zuhrain Shahbaz is an undergraduate student in the Criminal Justice and Public Policy Program at the University of Guelph. Her research interests include the sociopolitical relationships between racialization and the Canadian criminal justice system. Zuhrain has been a CIRCLE Coordinator since January 2026, working to ensure that CIRCLE's core program areas are relfected through its website, events, and outputs. She values CIRCLE for its commitment to fostering meaningul engagement within the South Asian diaspora and highlighting research from across different fields.

Past Team Members

Rahul Barbhuiya | Coordinator

I am Rahul Barbhuiya, a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Agrifood Engineering Laboratory at the University of Guelph. As the coordinator, I work closely with the Director and the Steering Committee of CIRCLE to advance CIRCLE's activities through its core program areas. As well, I support the curation of CIRCLE events, profiles, and encounter posts that highlight the work of scholars and foster meaningful experiences. I am committed to strengthening my cross-cultural understanding and building connections between India, South Asia, their diasporas, and Canada through my role. Not only am I enthusiastic about the opportunity CIRCLE provides to connect and engage with academics from various disciplines, but I am also passionate about its ability to go beyond stereotypes and generate curiosity about India and its vast diaspora in Canada. 

Graduate Conference Organizing Committee

2025 Conference

• Alice Marciniak

• Priyanka Pundir

• Bharat Punjabi

• Sharada Srinivasan

CIRCLE Office

Room 905, Ninth Floor, MacKinnon Building