P Rao

P Rao is the Lee A. Rieth Distinguished Professor of Environmental Engineering at Purdue University's Department of Civil and Construction Engineering, part of the College of Engineering. His office is located in CIVL 3145B, and he can be reached at SureshRao@purdue.edu. His research focuses on urban systems resilience, socio-physical infrastructure dynamics, and environmental hydrology, with particular emphasis on disaster response, climate adaptation, and water resources management. He holds a prominent endowed professorship recognizing his academic contributions.

Research interests include urban climate dynamics, hydrological modeling of wetlandscapes, and the interplay between social media data and disaster recovery. His work integrates complex systems approaches with empirical data from mobile networks and environmental sensors to address challenges like urban heat islands and subsurface contamination vulnerability. He also explores resilience engineering principles for infrastructural systems under climate extremes.

Key contributions span over 15 recent publications, including studies on metapopulation persistence in dynamic wetlands, scale-dependent urban heat island responses, and mobility data-driven disaster modeling. His work often bridges environmental science with civil engineering, emphasizing interdisciplinary solutions to global urbanization challenges.

• Awards: Lee A. Rieth Distinguished Professorship in Environmental Engineering
• Grants/Advising: Active in securing research funding but specific grants/students not listed in provided texts.

Leverages Purdue's interdisciplinary environment to advance research in urban water security, infrastructure resilience, and sustainable development strategies.