Olcay Unver

Olcay Ünver is a Professor of Practice in the Environmental and Resource Management Program at Arizona State University's Polytechnic School and a Senior Global Futures Scientist with the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory. He also serves as Senior Water Advisor to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and Industry Fellow at the Australian Rivers Institute. With a distinguished career spanning over three decades, he previously led FAO's water programs, UN-Water's World Water Assessment Programme, and UNESCO's Program Office on Global Water Assessment, and served as Vice-Chair of UN-Water.

Dr. Ünver earned his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering with a focus on water resources planning and management from the University of Texas at Austin (1981-1987), his M.Sc. in Civil Engineering with a focus on water resources engineering and hydrology from Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey (1979-1981), and his B.S. in Civil Engineering with a focus on hydrology and hydraulics from the same institution (1973-1979). Prior to joining ASU, he was a distinguished professor of water resources at Kent State University and President of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Project, where he transformed a large infrastructure project into a sustainable socioeconomic development program.

Dr. Ünver's research focuses on the critical intersection of water resources, food security, and sustainable development. His work examines the Water-Energy-Food Nexus, transboundary water management, drought resilience, and sustainable agricultural practices. He has pioneered approaches to integrated water resources management that consider socioeconomic factors alongside environmental sustainability, particularly through his leadership of the Southeastern Anatolia Project in Turkey, which transformed infrastructure development into comprehensive socioeconomic advancement. His research increasingly emphasizes the importance of stakeholder engagement, policy coherence, and innovative governance structures to address complex water challenges in a changing climate.

His extensive publication record demonstrates a consistent focus on practical solutions to global water challenges, with recent work emphasizing the connections between water management, food systems, and climate resilience. His publications reveal an evolving research trajectory from technical water management approaches to more integrated, systems-based perspectives that address the social, economic, and political dimensions of water resources.

Dr. Ünver has received numerous prestigious honors including:

• The 2023 IWRA Crystal Drop Award
• Fellow of the International Water Resources Association (elected 2000)
• NATO Science Fellow (1981-1984)
• TÜBİTAK Honor Fellow (1981-1987)
• Recognition as one of 19 "European Visionaries" by Time Magazine (1998-1999)
• Feature in the New York Times (1997)

Dr. Ünver actively mentors students and early-career researchers, currently advising a Ph.D. and an M.S. student at Arizona State University while serving on doctoral committees for students at universities in Germany, Finland, Spain, and Indonesia. His advisory work focuses on urban water security, water scarcity, food systems, and sustainable agricultural practices. He has secured and managed significant research funding throughout his career, including projects funded by UNESCO, the US Department of State, the European Union, and various national governments, with portfolios exceeding $80 million.

As a leader in global water governance, Dr. Ünver has played key roles in establishing major initiatives including the Euphrates-Tigris Initiative for Cooperation (ETIC), the Water Scarcity in Agriculture Platform (WASAG), and the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework. He serves on numerous advisory boards including the Water Joint Programming Initiative of the European Commission, the CGIAR Water, Land and Ecosystems Program, and the FAO Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGT).