Dr. Narasimha D. Rao’s (Faculty Profile) research examines the relationship between energy systems, human development and climate change. He is the recipient of the European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant (2015-2018) for this project, the Decent Living Energy – energy and emissions thresholds for providing decent living standards for all. His research interests include investigating income inequality, infrastructure, and climate policy. His methods include household energy modeling, econometrics, input-output, and policy analysis.
Dr. Rao won the 2011 Amulya K. Reddy Prize for the Best Paper in the journal ‘Energy for Sustainable Development’ for his paper entitled ‘Kerosene Subsidies in India: When Energy Policy Fails as Social Policy’.
Dr. Rao is also an Adjunct Fellow at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment in Bangalore, India.
Dr. Narasimha D. Rao obtained his PhD from Stanford University, California, in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER) in August 2011. Dr. Rao has previous master’s degrees in electrical engineering and technology policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His professional experience includes four years as a Visiting Faculty at the Indian Institute of Management’s Center for Public Policy in Bangalore, India, and seven years of consulting in the electricity industry in the US.