New Line Life Podcast: UVM Insights with Dr. Anand Persad

In the electric utility industry, vegetation management plays an integral role in reliability and resiliency. For this episode of the Line Life Podcast, we are featuring an interview with Dr. Anand Persad, the founder and director of research with Tetra Energy Sciences Research and Consulting.

I interviewed Dr. Persad at last year's Trees & Utilities conference in Fort Worth, Texas, to learn more about the challenges and opportunities in the utility vegetation management (UVM) industry. He has written several articles about UVM for the T&D World website, magazine and annual Vegetation Management Supplement, which we publish in partnership with the Utility Arborist Association (UAA) each June. 

To learn more about utility vegetation management, make sure to register for the 2025 Trees & Utilities conference this September in Knoxville, Tennessee. The 2025 T&D World Vegetation Management Supplement will be available in the UAA booth. I look forward to seeing you there! Also, if you have an idea for an article for the 2026 Vegetation Management Supplement, please email Amy Fischbach. 

Dr. Anand Persad is the director of research at Tetra Energy Sciences Research and Consulting. He chairs the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Science and Research Committee (SRC). Additionally, he serves as Research Committee Chairperson for the Utility Arborist Association (UAA).

Dr. Persad collaborates with a global network of researchers and governments on arboricultural and environmental research including climate resilient urban and utility-based tree programs, biodiversity analyses, invasive species, and tree biomechanics. 

Dr. Persad has received the ISA L.C. Chadwick Award for excellence in leading arboricultural research programs and the Award of Achievement by the Ohio Chapter of the ISA. These awards recognize arboricultural research excellence and commitment to industry innovation.

He holds a Ph.D. in invertebrate ecology/entomology from the University of the West Indies. His post-doctorate at University of Florida emphasized invasive species and insect molecular genetics.