Kiran Tota-Maharaj

Professor Kiran Tota-Maharaj is the distinguished Professor of Water Resources Management & Infrastructure at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU). Prof. Tota-Maharaj arrives with a rich academic background, having previously served as an Associate Dean (External Engagement) and Reader in Water and Environmental Engineering at Aston University Birmingham, and formerly the Head of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of the West of England Bristol (UWE Bristol). He is also the Technical Director for Water, Wastewater and Environmental Engineering at the Water Research Centre (WRc Group), Swindon, England, UK, leading on collaborative research, practice, and education between RAU and WRc.

Prof. Tota-Maharaj is a resourceful, committed and results orientated Professional Engineer, Academic Leader and Environmental Champion with valuable experience and a consistent record of success, facilitating in-depth and applied research, improving processes, analysing data, and delivering results across Civil, Chemical, Mechanical and Environmental Engineering. Kiran is a committed engineer, scientist and academic, passionate about ensuring an up to date, personal knowledge of specialist subject matter and with a genuine passion for teamwork, scholarly activity, and leadership. Prof. Tota-Maharaj is a strategic thinker, able to assess needs and develop bespoke research methodologies and highly capable of proposing innovative engineering solutions and effective re-direction to teams/colleagues when tackling complex problems. He is an innovative professional, with adept engineering and project management skills and proven ability to build and maintain key relationships at all levels, translating requirements and overseeing all issues through to completion.

Professor Tota-Maharaj's expertise and leadership have gained his recognition as a prominent engineer and practitioner within the water resources management community throughout the Caribbean as well as the UK. Throughout his academic and industry career, Prof. Tota-Maharaj has established himself as a leading expert in the fields of environmental engineering, renewable energy systems and water resources management. His research focuses on innovative solutions for sustainable water resource management, integration of clean energy/renewable energy and environmental engineering principles in a circular economy. Kiran's passion for environmental engineering, sustainability and circular economies has been a key driving force throughout his career. Prof. Tota-Maharaj's scholarly activities include developing innovative and novel solutions for managing water resources and improving critical infrastructure to ensure a sustainable future for generations to come. His work has been instrumental in advancing the understanding of urban/sub-urban water systems, sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), Nature-Based solutions (NbS) and blue/green-infrastructure, contributing to sustainable societies with an ecological engineering foot-print future for all.

Prof. Kiran Tota-Maharaj's appointment represents a strategic move towards furthering the university's commitment to excellence in Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus with industry partners WRc. RAU is now well-positioned to make meaningful contributions from Kiran's expertise and experience to the WEF Nexus fields, addressing critical challenges related to water sustainability. With a deep commitment to industry, education and research, Prof. Tota-Maharaj is dedicated to mentoring, nurturing, and training the next generation of water resource professionals. His appointment at the RAU signifies a new chapter in his esteemed career, where he will continue to inspire staff and students, contributing valuable insights to the field of water resources management and infrastructure.