Anurag Bisen is a veteran submariner of the Indian Navy with over 35 years of service, including the command of Sindhughosh (Kilo) Class missile submarine. Captain Bisen tenanted an 8-year tenure in the National Security Council Secretariat where as a Senior Defence Specialist he worked on a range of maritime subjects including maritime boundary and international maritime law matters, Indo-Pacific, Indian Ocean Region, Maritime and Coastal Security and Polar Issues. He was instrumental in drafting and coordinating the approval process of India’s Arctic Policy, released by the Government in March 2022. Captain Anurag Bisen is a graduate of Defence Services Staff College Wellington, holding master’s degrees in Defence & Strategic Studies and Telecommunication & Electronic Warfare. He is also a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and a diploma in Russian Language from Arkhangelsk State University, Russia. Captain Bisen has also qualified UGC-NET in Defence & Strategic Studies and is currently pursuing his PhD in National Security Studies from Jawaharlal University, New Delhi. Anurag has been nominated as a permanent expert on the panel of the International Expert Group of the Lomonosov Moscow State University Marine Research Centre, Russia. He is also Honorary Adjunct Faculty at the National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi. Before joining VIF as a Senior Fellow, Captain Bisen was a Research Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.

Kanagavalli Suryanarayanan is a practicing Advocate and the first Indian to specialize in Polar law. She holds a Master’s degree (LLM) in Polar law from the University of Akureyri, Iceland, and a Bachelor’s degree in law, where she graduated as a Gold Medallist specializing in international law, Legislative drafting, and Intellectual Property rights.

She is a policy consultant to the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (IGSD) on Arctic issues. She is a member of the International Arctic Science Committee’s (IASC): ICARP IV on Scientific Cooperation and Diplomacy. Recently, she served as the official Rapporteur for the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM-46) held in Kochi, India. She was part of the official delegation of India at the Arctic Circle Assembly in 2022 and 2023.

She has contributed extensively to increasing India-Arctic cooperation and advises on Polar-related policy matters. Her research interests include Arctic, Antarctic, Third Pole law and Policy, Indigenous law, and decolonial comparative law. Her expertise and commitment continue to strengthen India’s role in global polar governance and policy development.

Elizabeth Wishnick (moderator) is a Senior Research Scientist in the China and Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Division at the Center for Naval Analyses, on leave from her position as Professor of Political Science at Montclair State University. Since 2002, she has been a research scholar at WEAI. She previously taught undergraduate and graduate courses in international relations, Chinese politics, and Chinese foreign policy at Barnard College, Columbia College, and SIPA. Dr. Wishnick has dual regional expertise on China and Russia and is an expert on Chinese foreign policy, Sino- Russian relations, Northeast Asian and Central Asian security, and Arctic geopolitics. Her book project, China’s Risk China’s Risk: Energy, Water, Food and Regional Security (forthcoming Columbia University Press) addresses the security consequences of energy, water and food risks in China for its Eurasian neighbors, a topic she explores in a related policy blog, www.chinasresourcerisks.com. She received a PhD in Political Science from Columbia University, an MA in Russian and East European Studies from Yale University, and a BA from Barnard College. She speaks Mandarin, Russian, and French.