CCNY’s Kaveh Madani is new United Nations Water Think Tank leader

Dr. Kaveh Madani, the renowned environmental scientist and Research Professor at The City College of New York-based CUNY Remote Sensing Earth Systems Institute (CUNY CREST), is the next leader of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH). His appointment was announced by the UN. 

Madani will assume the position of  UNU-INWEH Director early next year and will maintain his CUNY CREST affiliation in CCNY’s Grove School of Engineering.

Known as the UN’s water think tank or water university, UNU-INWEH is the United Nations’ academic arm that focuses on addressing pressing global water security challenges around the world. The institute was created in 1996 in response to an emerging concern about the growing global water crisis and its harmful impact on human and environmental health and sustainable development. Since then, it has made major contributions to advancing global policy-relevant to the water research and contributed to several major UN events and reports, including the 2018 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development and the SDG 6 Synthesis Report.

“Dr. Madani has been instrumental in shaping CUNY CREST’s growing research, capacity building, outreach and advocacy efforts in the domain of environmental justice and to reduce the vulnerability of disadvantaged communities in the United States and around the globe due to the climate and weather related extreme events”, said Dr. Reza Khanbilvardi, CUNY CREST Executive Director and Professor of Civil Engineering in the Grove School. “His new leadership position further strengthens CUNY’s ongoing collaboration with the UN and increases our positive global impact on water science and policy, especially in the global south.

“On behalf of the CUNY family, I congratulate Dr. Madani for this prestigious achievement. I am thrilled  that one of ours is now in this globally acclaimed leadership position that will mutually benefit and support the CUNY CREST mission and vision.”

A renowned environmental scientist, and activist, Madani joined CCNY from Yale University in 2021. He has a unique combination of experience in high-level policymaking, prominent practice-relevant research, and high-impact societal interactions. He’s an international authority on modeling and managing complex human-nature systems who’s previously served as a Vice President of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) Bureau, overseeing the world's highest-level decision-making body on environment. 

Click here to read Madani’s complete bio.

About the CUNY CREST Institute
The CUNY Remote Sensing Earth System Institute, headquartered at the City College of New York, was officially approved by CUNY Board of Trustees in June 2010. The goal of the Institute is to serve as a CUNY-wide Institute of Excellence in Advancement of Earth System Sciences and application of Remote Sensing Technology as well as other emerging technologies. The Institute serves as a major hub of outstanding interdisciplinary research across CUNY colleges. The institute is designed to be a collaborative environment from faculty and scientists from different CUNY campuses to be able to work together in a variety of topics related to earth system sciences. The institute’s collaborative environment will enhance the advancement of science at CUNY and will create opportunity to attract external support.  
 
About the City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Emsi puts at $1.9 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 16,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.