Ashish Kumar

Ashish Kumar is an Assistant Professor of Safety Science. He began his career in the oil and gas sector before moving into academia. He is committed to multidisciplinary research aimed at improving safety in complex socio-technical systems. He completed his PhD in Safety Science at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. His research focuses on resilience engineering, system safety, occupational health and safety, risk assessment and management, and injury epidemiology. He is also interested in the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence, particularly natural language processing, to safety science. In addition, he works with causal inference and statistical modelling to advance safety research and practice. 

Before joining UPES, Ashish gained over three years of experience in the oil and gas sector. He worked as a Designated Safety Officer at an aviation fuel storage depot, where he managed safety operations, conducted safety inspections and audits, and contributed to the development of the Emergency Response Plan and HAZOP studies. He also oversaw the maintenance of fire-fighting equipment and supported overall safety management activities. 

Resilience engineering | System safety and socio-technical systems | Occupational health and safety | Risk assessment and risk management | Injury epidemiology | Safety analytics using machine learning and AI | Natural language processing for safety applications | Causal inference and statistical modelling in safety science | Data-driven accident analysis and prediction. 

Ashish’s teaching philosophy is rooted in the belief that strong foundational understanding is essential for learning, while staying informed about the latest schools of thought is equally important for modern safety practice. He encourages students to connect concepts with real-world contexts and to recognise that safety goes beyond checklists and compliance. Through discussions, case-based learning, and problem-solving exercises, he helps students develop analytical thinking and sound judgement. He aims to create a collaborative and engaging learning environment that nurtures curiosity and prepares students to become responsible and reflective safety professionals. 

Ashish has taught safety-focused courses such as Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA), Fundamentals of Fire Engineering, Fire Safety and Planning, and other subjects related to Occupational Health and Safety. 

He received the prestigious Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF) in 2021 for his doctoral research. 

Ashish is passionate about advancing safety science through emerging paradigms such as resilience engineering, socio-technical systems thinking, and data-driven safety analytics. He is particularly interested in the use of artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and causal inference to understand and improve safety performance in complex industrial environments. He has published his research in leading Scopus and Web of Science-indexed journals in the areas of occupational health and safety. He also contributes to the academic community by reviewing manuscripts for reputed journals in occupational health and safety, and engineering management. 

ashish.kumar1@ddn.upes.ac.in