About / CV

Personal Bio

I grew up in Chennai, a megacity in Southern India, with a number of urban water bodies - rivers and lakes. But despite these abundance of water around me, water was still a scarce commodity. There was often too little, too much or too polluted water. I saw water being ferried in trucks on the roads in certain months, and people rescued in boats in the same roads during certain flooding events. But all through the year, I saw the waters mostly stay polluted. This reality motivated me to dive deep into water challenges looking for innovative ways in solving them practically.

Now with experience in over a dozen countries across the world - South Asia, Sub Saharan Africa, Europe and the Americas, I took note of failed engineering solutions and lack of policy enforcement mechanisms. I understood the need to bridge these diverse yet critically connected domains of technology and governance- in order to effect real change. Throughout my career, I have been seeking holistic solutions that are innovative, integrated and fit for local contexts.

If water challenges cuts across disciplinary boundaries, why should the solutions be disciplinary?

Education

PhD - Environmental Engineering (ETH Zürich, Switzerland)
MSc - Water Science, Policy & Mgmt (University of Oxford, UK)
BTech - Chemical Engineering (Anna University, India)

Certifications

Business and Sustainability, CISL - Cambridge University
Water Stewardship, Alliance for Water Stewardship
Public Policy for Infrastructure, Stanford University

Work Experience

World Bank - Water GP Consultant
100RC Rockefeller Foundation - Technical Associate

Visiting Fellowships

Stanford University - Visiting Scholar
TU Munich - Visiting Scientist

Teaching Activites

I regularly teach courses on WASH for Development, Urban Planning, Environmental Engineering, most recently in the following places:

Lecturer, ETH Zurich
Lecturer, EPF Lausanne
Visiting Lecturer, IHE Delft
Elective Faculty, Oxford University
Instructor, Coursera
Guest Lecturer, TU Munich
Guest Lecturer, TU Berlin

Professional Services

I volunteer and support initiatives in Science Communication, Science to Policy Interface and Youth empowerment in the urban water agenda.

Co-Founded, Swiss Water Partnership Youth
Member, Expert Group on UN SDG 11
Member, Swiss Young Academy
Member, Inclusive Sanitation Task Force IWA
Member of Swiss Academic Delegations at World Expo20, UN23 Water Conference, COP29 etc.
Co-Organizer of Science to Policy Initiative at Eawag
Guest Editor at PLOS Water
Reviewer for prominent peer reviewed journals and key UN publications
Speaker at Scientific Conferences and Development Forums

Honours

Swiss Young Academy 2025, Swiss Academies of Sciences and Arts, Switzerland
Global Shaper representative 2023, at World Economic Forum Meetings
Green Talent Award 2021, BMBF, Germany
Leader of Tomorrow 2020, St. Gallen Symposium, Switzerland
Junior Researcher Award 2020, Swiss Humanitarian Aid, Switzerland
SDG Talent 2019, UNLEASH Innovation Lab in Shenzhen, China
Skoll Leading for Impact Fellowship 2017, Oxford University, UK
Commonwealth Scholarship 2016, DFID, UK

CV

Short Resume - Feb 2026

Abishek Resume Feb 2026.pdf

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