Michael Vinay Bhatia (August 23, 1976 – May 7, 2008) was a researcher studying conflict resolution in war-torn countries.
He was the recipient of the Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship and a Marshall Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford where he earned his M.Sc.
Bhatia was killed on May 7, 2008, in Khost Province, Afghanistan, where he was serving as a social scientist in consultation with the US Defense Department.
His research and humanitarian work brought him to the Sahrawi refugee camps in western Algeria, East Timor, Kosovo, and Afghanistan.
[1][2] It has been estimated by US military personnel that Bhatia's Human Terrain Team helped one brigade reduce its killings by 60 to 70%, increase the number of districts supporting the Afghan government from 15 to 83, and reduce Afghan civilian deaths from over 70 during the previous brigade's tour to 11.