TEHRAN — Renowned Iranian scientist and environmental activist Kaveh Madani was appointed on Sunday as the deputy for international affairs, innovation and socio-cultural engagement of the Department of Environment.

Earlier this year, Madani's name appeared in the media as one of the candidates with strong support from the Iranian environmental NGOs and activists to become Iran's Minister of Energy after Hamid Chitchian in President Hassan Rouhani's second presidency term. Madani had denied the news later in an interview with Mehr News Agency.

Madani, 36, is known internationally for his work on integrating game theory and decision analysis into water resources management models. He has played a major role in raising public awareness about water and environmental problems in Iran in recent years. His research and major outreach activities have influenced water policy in Iran.

Madani is a Reader (Professor) in Systems Analysis and Policy at the Centre for Environmental Policy of Imperial College London. Prior to joining Imperial College in 2013, he was an Assistant Professor of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering and an Alex Alexander Fellow at the University of Central Florida (UCF), where he founded and directed the Hydro-Environmental & Energy Systems Analysis (HEESA) Research Group. He has a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Davis, Master of Water Resources from the Lund University and B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the University of Tabriz, and has done his post-doctoral research in Environmental Economics and Policy at the Water Science and Policy Center at the University of California, Riverside. 

Madani is the founder of WaterSISWEB, one of the five winners of the "Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize" in 2017, one of the four recipients of the "Arne Richter Award for Outstanding Young Scientists in 2016", one of the ten “New Faces of Civil Engineering in 2012”, and the Associate Editor of the Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management and Sustainable Cities and Society.

MQ/MG