Narasimha Rao, Global Energy Scholar, Named Assistant Professor of Energy Systems
Narasimha Rao, whose research examines the relationship between energy systems, climate change, and human society, has been appointed assistant professor of energy systems analysis at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES).
Rao, who is currently a research scholar and project leader at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) — an international scientific institute that conducts research into global, environmental, economic, technological and social change — will come to Yale in January 2019.
Rao, who is currently a research scholar and project leader at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) — an international scientific institute that conducts research into global, environmental, economic, technological and social change — will come to Yale in January 2019.
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
Narasimha Rao
At IIASA, Rao leads the institute’s innovative Decent Living Energy project, which has helped quantify — and map — the energy needs and climate change impacts of eradicating poverty and providing “decent” living standards for all humans.
Since 2015, the project has explored which goods and services constitute decent living standards, which energy resources are required to provide these goods and services in different countries, the climate impacts of providing these services, and how constituents and their energy needs will change as their countries develop.
Rao began his career as an engineer. After earning a joint master’s degree — in technology and policy, and in electrical engineering and computer science — from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he spent several years working in the private sector and as a consultant in the U.S. electricity sector.
But it was during a four-year stint as a visiting faculty member at the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, during which India was undergoing a vast energy transition, that he came to truly understand the human impacts of energy policy decisions.
“I started my career on the technical side, as an engineer,” he said. “But as I began to understand development issues and strategies more and more, I started to realize that many of the of the challenges are political, institutional, and social.
“So I gradually moved away from the technical side and tried to better understand the context of energy and society.”
In 2011, he completed his Ph.D. at Stanford University’s Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, where he studied the impacts of energy policy in developing countries.
During his career he has studied income inequality, infrastructure, and climate policy. His methods have included household energy modeling, survey work, econometrics, input-output analysis, and policy analysis.
His work has been published in dozens of academic journals. In a recent study, published in the journal WIREs Climate Change, Rao and a colleague illustrated how reduced global inequality will improve climate outcomes. In 2011, he won the Amulya K. Reddy Prize for the Best Paper in the journal Energy for Sustainable Development for his paper, “Kerosene Subsidies in India: When Energy Policy Fails as Social Policy.”
Since 2015, the project has explored which goods and services constitute decent living standards, which energy resources are required to provide these goods and services in different countries, the climate impacts of providing these services, and how constituents and their energy needs will change as their countries develop.
Rao began his career as an engineer. After earning a joint master’s degree — in technology and policy, and in electrical engineering and computer science — from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he spent several years working in the private sector and as a consultant in the U.S. electricity sector.
But it was during a four-year stint as a visiting faculty member at the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, during which India was undergoing a vast energy transition, that he came to truly understand the human impacts of energy policy decisions.
“I started my career on the technical side, as an engineer,” he said. “But as I began to understand development issues and strategies more and more, I started to realize that many of the of the challenges are political, institutional, and social.
“So I gradually moved away from the technical side and tried to better understand the context of energy and society.”
In 2011, he completed his Ph.D. at Stanford University’s Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, where he studied the impacts of energy policy in developing countries.
During his career he has studied income inequality, infrastructure, and climate policy. His methods have included household energy modeling, survey work, econometrics, input-output analysis, and policy analysis.
His work has been published in dozens of academic journals. In a recent study, published in the journal WIREs Climate Change, Rao and a colleague illustrated how reduced global inequality will improve climate outcomes. In 2011, he won the Amulya K. Reddy Prize for the Best Paper in the journal Energy for Sustainable Development for his paper, “Kerosene Subsidies in India: When Energy Policy Fails as Social Policy.”
“He has sought to better understand not just the economic and environmental implications of energy policy but also the social costs — and how policies can be used to improve the living standards for more people worldwide.”
— Indy Burke, F&ES dean
The opportunity to come to Yale interested him because of its strong reputation and ability to influence policymakers, the chance to work with students, and the opportunity to work with colleagues across a range of disciplines.
“During his career, Narasimha has examined the complexity of global energy systems across many dimensions,” said F&ES Dean Indy Burke. “Through his work he has sought to better understand not just the economic and environmental implications of energy policy but also the social costs — and how policies can be used to improve the living standards for more people worldwide.”
These interdisciplinary and global approaches, Burke said, will significantly expand the School’s capabilities in three priority areas of the strategic plan: climate change and energy, environmental data, and environmental justice.
“We’re thrilled that he will now bring this depth of scholarship on these important issues — and a passion for teaching the next generation of environmental leaders — to our school.”
“During his career, Narasimha has examined the complexity of global energy systems across many dimensions,” said F&ES Dean Indy Burke. “Through his work he has sought to better understand not just the economic and environmental implications of energy policy but also the social costs — and how policies can be used to improve the living standards for more people worldwide.”
These interdisciplinary and global approaches, Burke said, will significantly expand the School’s capabilities in three priority areas of the strategic plan: climate change and energy, environmental data, and environmental justice.
“We’re thrilled that he will now bring this depth of scholarship on these important issues — and a passion for teaching the next generation of environmental leaders — to our school.”
– Kevin Dennehy kevin.dennehy@yale.edu 203 436-4842
PUBLISHED: August 16, 2018
Note: Yale School of the Environment (YSE) was formerly known as the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES). News articles posted prior to July 1, 2020, refer to the School's name at that time.
