Prof Asit Biswas

Distinguished Visiting Professor, Glasgow University

Prof Asit K. Biswas is universally acknowledged as one of the world’s leading authorities on water, environment and development-related issues. He has a very distinguished career as an academic; very senior public official in Canada; advisor and confidant to Presidents, Prime Ministers and Ministers in 19 countries, six Heads of United Nations Agencies, two Secretary-Generals of OECD, several Heads of bilateral aid agencies, and four CEOs or Chairmen of MNCs in Fortune 500 list.

He has worked and lived in all continents except Australia. He was a member of the World Commission on Water, and co-founder of International Water Resources Association and World Water Council.

He was a member of the Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum and is currently member of the International Advisory Board, Pictet Asset Management, Geneva; member of the Advisory Board, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur; and Strategic Advisor, Singapore International Water Week.

Among his numerous awards are Crystal Drop and Millennium Prizes of the International Water Resources Association; Walter Huber Prize of the American Society of Civil Engineering; Stockholm Water Prize, considered to be the Nobel Prize for water, for “his outstanding and multi-faceted contributions to global water resource issues;” “Person of the Year” award from Prime Minister Harper of Canada; Aragon Environment Prize of Spain. Reuters named him as a “one of the top 10 water trailblazers of the world.” Impeller magazine selected him as “true global water hero.”

Because of his manifold research contributions, he has received seven Honorary Doctorates of Technology or Engineering from leading global universities. He was elected an Academician over 20 years ago. He currently has an h-index of 42. Google Scholar lists 950 of his publications and over 8,500 citations of his work. He has a Research Gate score of 41.67, which puts him into the top 2.5% of all scientists from all disciplines from the entire world.

He is the author or editor of 88 books. His work has been translated into 41 languages. Prof Biswas is the founder of the International Journal of Water Resources Development 2 and was its Editor-in-Chief for its first 29 years. He is a regular media commentator in BBC, CNN, CNBC, TRT, Channel News Asia, MediaCorp on issues related to natural resources management, environment, international relations, business strategies and scientific and technological innovations. His opinion pieces in various international media are now read by some 1.74 million readers annually all over the world.