ATAMBIR RAO

Dr Rao has a distinguished international technical career in the design and development of nuclear power plants covering over 35 years. He is currently the Head of Nuclear Power Technology Development at the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria and has been in his current position for about 5 years.

He has a PhD and MS in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, USA. He gained his BS in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India in 1970.

He is recognized as a leader, innovator and effective proponent of complex issues. He was the lead developer and proponent of the passive boiling water reactor design (the ESBWR) at General Electric Company, where he had a distinguished career and worked for over 30 years in the design and development of advanced reactor designs.

He has several awards including Fellow of the ASME and the ASME Westinghouse Gold and Silver Medals for his contributions to the power industry.