1988/B.Tech/CE Global Lead, World Bank USA
Dr Nagaraja Rao Harshadeep (Harsh) received his Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from IIT Madras in 1988, followed by an MS in Environmental and Resource Engineering from the State University of New York in 1990. He then received an SM in Engineering Sciences in 1992 and a PhD in Environmental Engineering & Sciences in 1995 from Harvard University.
Following stints as a short-term consultant at the World Bank and technical researcher at Harvard working with the Asian Development Bank, UN Industrial Development Organization, and other organizations. He was a modeling consultant at GKY & Associates, Inc. and a postdoctoral fellow officer at Harvard working on transboundary water cooperation in the Middle East. Gaining experience from these ventures, he joined the World Bank, where he has been working from 1996 until now.
In over 26 years at the Bank, he has led and supported several environmental, water, and natural resources projects and studies/policy support worldwide, primarily in Africa and Central, South and East Asia, including on transboundary watersheds, integrated basin planning and management, critical ecosystems, pollution management, climate resilience, hydro informatics, analytical/decision support tools and emerging technologies. His work on spatial data and analytics includes the development of interactive spatial apps and innovative interactive e-books for outreach.
As part of this work, Harsh has been a Task Team Leader for a range of projects (in Malawi, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Lake Victoria, Nile Basin, India, Central Asia, etc.) as well as for many analytical products (e.g., Ganges Strategic Basin Assessment, Central Asia Water and Energy Portal, Africa Hydromet Services Facilitation, Africa Climate Change and Water Resources, Digital Technologies, and Solutions for Sustainable Development, BlueTech, Global Biodiversity Data and Analytics, etc.). He has also helped lead and contribute significantly to World Bank financed activities relating to water resources and environment at national and state levels in India.
He is recognized as a leader in technology for sustainable development at the World Bank. He has been invited to participate and speak at several international forums on new technological approaches related to environment, water, and other natural resources. He also leads a young team at the Bank called the KIDS (Knowledge, Information & Data Services) to facilitate technology use for sustainable development. He has received many individual and team awards at the World Bank including an Excellence in Leadership award from the World Bank Staff Association in 2020.
For his achievements in the field of Environmental Sciences and Technology, IIT Madras and its alumni are proud to bestow this award upon Dr. Nagaraja Rao Harshadeep.
