About
Richard M. Morrow Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Professor of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering (courtesy appointment)
Details
In addition to many papers and invited talks, my contributions include a textbook on sustainable engineering, user-friendly software, editorial board memberships of several multidisciplinary journals, and short courses taught across the world at institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay. My work has been recognized by various awards including the Education LCA Leadership Award from the American Council for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), the Lawrence K. Cecil Award for environmental chemical engineering from the Environmental Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), Research Excellence and Education awards from the Sustainable Engineering Forum of AIChE, the CAREER award from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Ted Peterson student paper award from the Computing and Systems Technology division of AIChE, and several best paper awards from journals and conferences. I have served on task forces of the United Nations Environment Program, the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, the Confederation of Indian Industry, and have held full-time and visiting faculty positions in India. I received my Bachelor of Chemical Engineering degree from the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai, MS in Chemical Engineering Practice and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with a minor in Technology and Environmental Policy through courses and research conducted at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
Research Interests
My research is developing systematic methods to ensure that engineering makes positive contributions toward a sustainable and resilient world. These methods aim to find solutions that respect nature’s limits, are socially desirable, and contribute to economic prosperity. For this, we are extending engineering to go beyond its traditional boundary toward convergence with areas such as ecosystem ecology and environmental economics. Specific areas of research include design of products, processes, value chains and landscapes for sustainability, circularity, and resilience; accounting for ecosystem services in engineering design and life cycle assessment; framework for multiscale modeling from molecular to planetary scales; and methods to enable transition of university campuses, industry, and nations to a sustainable future.
