Dr Vibha Dhawan Becomes New Director General of TERI

Dr Vibha Dhawan, a Senior Programme Director at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), took charge as the new Director General of TERI with effect from March 1, 2021.

She took over from Dr Ajay Mathur, consequent to his appointment as the new Director General of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), at the first special assembly held recently.

Commenting on her appointment, Dr Vibha Dhawan, said “I am honoured to lead TERI. We stand on the strong foundation of four decades of knowledge and innovation in the field of sustainable development. Together with our invaluable human resource and strong support of partners, I am confident of the pivotal role that TERI will play in accelerating India’s transition to a cleaner and sustainable future.”

She has been associated with the policy and research think-tank TERI since 1985, and also served as the Vice-Chancellor of TERI School of Advanced Studies from 2005 to 2007. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India.

Dr Dhawan has been actively involved in research as well as policy development, both at the national and international level. She has also been a task force member of various committees of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), Biotech Consortium India Ltd (BCIL) etc.

Currently, she has been serving as Adjunct Professor, Consul General South Asia Partnership, Michigan State University.

Besides, Dr Dhawan has also successfully completed several international assignments such as co-ordinator for the Asia Pacific Consortium on Agriculture Biotechnology (APCoAB); Advisor to Director General, The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT); and Deputy Director, Research Partnerships & Co-ordination with Borlaug Institute for South Asia.

Moreover, she has also served on the boards of number of prestigious organizations in both India and overseas. Currently, she has been the coordinator of the DBT-TERI Centre on Integrated Production of Advanced Biofuels and Biocommodities.