Luke Juran - Research

Academic Interests

My research examines human-environment interactions in the international context. My specific research interests are threefold: (1) human interactions with water resources; (2) human interactions with disasters; and (3) the nexus of humans, water resources, and disaster processes. I am particularly interested in access to water and sanitation services and the reconstruction of water and sanitation infrastructure after disasters.

Most of my research is in India, but I have also worked, conducted, and/or supervised research in Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Greece, Italy, Malawi, Mauritius, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and the United States.

My current projects examine disaster resilient infrastructure at the national level in India, community-level water security in Tamil Nadu, the disinfection of drinking water at public schools in Haryana, and manganese contamination in private wells in Virginia. These projects involve organizing workshops, water quality testing, household surveys, focus groups and interviews, and statistical and geospatial analyses. These and past projects have been funded by agencies such as Fulbright, NASA, USAID, CDC, and the Institute for Society, Culture & Environment.

In addition to the Department of Geography at Virginia Tech, I also hold an appointment as Associate Professor of Human Ecology of Water at the Virginia Water Resources Research Center and Affiliate Faculty at the Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens.

Professional memberships/activities include: American Association of Geographers; CARTHA; Chesapeake Research Consortium; Gender CC - Women for Climate Justice; Gender & Disaster Network; Gender & Water Alliance; International Alumni Exchange Network; International Network on Household Water Treatment & Safe Storage; Radical Interpretations of Disasters & Radical Solutions; Social Science Extreme Events Research; Southeastern Division of the American Association of Geographers; Southern Region Integrated Water Resources Committee; Universities Council on Water Resources; Virginia Geographic Alliance; and Virginia Water Monitoring Council.

Recent Publications

Juran, L. & B.K. Paul (eds.) (Under Contract). The Routledge handbook of disaster mitigation & preparedness. New York: Routledge Press.

Paul, B.K. & L. Juran (eds.) (2025). The Routledge handbook of disaster response & recovery. New York: Routledge Press.

Naseri, M.Y. & L. Juran (2025). Computer modeling to inform post-disaster recovery: the case of Hurricane Matthew in North Carolina. In The Routledge handbook of disaster response & recovery, B.K. Paul, L. Juran (eds.), 397-412. New York: Routledge Press.

Chishiri, C.D.S. & L. Juran (2025). Disaster recovery and businesses. In The Routledge handbook of disaster response & recovery, B.K. Paul, L. Juran (eds.), 414-424. New York: Routledge Press.

Chand, A. & L. Juran (2025). The role of households and communities in disaster response and recovery: the case of the Pacific and small island developing states. In The Routledge handbook of disaster response & recovery, B.K. Paul, L. Juran (eds.), 348-357. New York: Routledge Press.

Juran, L., E. Wilcox, M. Albritton, J.A. Smith, J. Harris, A. Cohen, L.M. Sharma, Y. Gautam (2024). Effectiveness of the upscaled use of a silver-ceramic (silver ionization) technology to disinfect drinking water in tanks at schools in rural India. J. Water & Health 22(11): 2233-2245.

Juran, L., R. Oliver, D.C. Read (2022). Water sector reconstruction for post-disaster housing settlements: a tale of two governance models. In Resilient water management strategies in urban settings: innovations in decentralized water infrastructure systems, T. Younos, J. Lee, T. Parece (eds.), 227-243. Switzerland: Springer Water.

Geffroy, D., R. Oliver, L. Juran, T. Skuzinski (2021). Projecting the metropolis: Paris 2024 and the (re)scaling of metropolitan governance. Cities 114: doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2021.103189

Prince, B.C., L. Juran, V. Sridhar, A. Bukvic, M.C. MacDonald (2021). A statistical and spatial analysis of water poverty using a modified Water Poverty Index. Int. J. Water Res. Dev. 37(2): 339-356.

Juran, L. (2020). Indian Ocean tsunami, 2004. In Natural hazards & disasters: from avalanches & climate change to water spouts & wildfires, B.K. Paul (ed.), pp. 197-202. Broomfield: ABC-CLIO.

Clark, B., I. MacNaughton, L. Juran (2020). Bhola Cyclone, Bangladesh, 1970. In Natural hazards & disasters: from avalanches & climate change to water spouts & wildfires, B.K. Paul (ed.), pp. 14-18. Broomfield: ABC-CLIO.

Stevens, A., K. Compton, L. Juran (2020). BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, United States, 2010. In Natural hazards & disasters: from avalanches & climate change to water spouts & wildfires, B.K. Paul (ed.), pp. 27-32. Broomfield: ABC-CLIO.

Scott, V., L. Juran, E.J. Ling, B. Benham, A. Spiller (2020). Assessing strontium and vulnerability to strontium in private drinking water systems in Virginia. Water 12(4): doi:10.3390/w12041053.

Aksha, S.K., L.M. Resler, L. Juran, L.W. Carstensen (2020). A geospatial analysis of multi-hazard risk in Dharan, Nepal. Geomatics, Nat. Hazards & Risk 11(1): 88-111.

Read, D.C., P.J. Fisher, L. Juran (2020). How do women maximize the value of mentorship? Insights from mentees, mentors, and industry professionals. Leadership & Org. Dev. J. 41(2): 165-175.

Olson, E., R. Oliver, L. Juran (2020). Bidding trepidation: Stockholm's uncertain relationship with the Olympic Games. In Mega-events: place-making, regeneration & city-regional development, G. Evans (ed.), pp. 127-139. London: Routledge Press.

Juran, L., E.A. Adams, S. Prajapati (2019). Purity, pollution, and space: barriers to latrine adoption in post-disaster India. Envt. Man. 64(4): 456-469.

Sherry, J., L. Juran, K.N. Kolivras, L.H. Krometis, E.J. Ling (2019). Perceptions of water services and innovations to improve water services in Tanzania. Pub. Works Man. & Policy 24(3): 260-283.

Aksha, S.K., L. Juran, L.M. Resler, Y. Zhang (2019). An analysis of social vulnerability to natural hazards in Nepal using a modified Social Vulnerability Index. Int. J. Disaster Risk Sci. 10(1): 103-116.

Allen, T., B. Badgley, A. Bukvic, M. Covi, T. Crawford, M. Flint, A. Gordon, L. Juran, B. McFarlane, M. Mitchell, C. Neale, M. Rippy, J. Roe, T. Schenk, S. Stafford (2019). Key priorities and university roles to address coastal resilience in Virginia. Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech.

Sehgal, V., V. Sridhar, L. Juran, J.A. Ogejo (2018). Integrating climate forecasts with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) for high-resolution hydrologic simulations and forecasts in the Southeastern U.S. Sustainability 10(9):
doi:10.3390/su10093079.

Juran, L. (2018). Disaster, development, and water: the reconstruction and (re)fabrication of hazardous waterscapes in post-tsunami India. In The Asian tsunami and post-disaster aid, S. Reddy (ed.), pp. 79-99. Singapore: Springer Nature.

Adams, E.A., L. Juran, I. Ajibade (2018). 'Spaces of exclusion' in community water governance: a feminist political ecology of gender and participation in Malawi's urban water user associations. Geoforum 95: 133-142.

MacDonald, M.C., L. Juran, S. Srinivasan, J. Jose, S.I. Ali, P. Rajagopalan, K. Hall (2018). Assessing participant compliance with point-of-use water treatment: an exploratory investigation. Pub. Works Man. & Policy 23(2): 150-167.

Aksha, S.K., L. Juran, L.M. Resler (2018). Spatial and temporal analysis of natural hazard mortality in Nepal. Envt. Hazards 17(2): 163-179.

Juran, L., M.C. MacDonald, N.B. Basu, S. Hubbard, R. Rajagopal, P. Rajagopalan, L. Philip (2017). Development and application of a multi-scalar, participant-driven Water Poverty Index in post-tsunami India. Int. J. Water Res. Dev. 33(6): 955-975.

Bandzuh, J.T., L. Juran, K.N. Kolivras, A.B. Wallis (2017). Local perceptions of measures to control Aedes mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases in Puntarenas and San José, Costa Rica. J. Latin Am. Geo. 16(2): 139-162.

Juran, L. & K. Lahiri-Dutt (2017). Waterscapes in transition: changing uses and perceptions of water in middle class homes in Kolkata, India. Water History 9(4): 433-451.

Juran, L., J. Trivedi, K.N. Kolivras (2017). Considering the 'public' in public health: popular resistance to the Smallpox Eradication Programme in India. Indian J. Medical Ethics 2(2): 104-111.

MacDonald, M.C., L. Juran, J. Jose, S. Srinivasan, S.I. Ali, K.J. Aronson, K. Hall (2016). The impact of rainfall and seasonal variability on the removal of bacteria by a point-of-use drinking water treatment intervention in Chennai, India. Int. J. Envt. Health Res. 26(2): 208-221.

Juran, L. (2015). A framework for integrating water projects in disaster reconstruction processes in the international context. Pub. Works Man. & Policy 20(4): 305-321.

Juran, L. & J. Trivedi (2015). Women, gender norms, and natural disasters in Bangladesh. Geo. Review 105(4): 601-611.

Juran, L. & M.C. MacDonald (2014). An assessment of boiling as a method of household water treatment in South India. J. Water & Health 12(4): 791-802.

Juran, L. (2012). The gendered nature of disasters: women survivors in post-tsunami Tamil Nadu. Indian J. Gender Studies 19(1): 1-29.