Author: Prof RR

My name is R.Rajagopalan, but students and many friends call me as Prof RR. I am an engineer by training, environmentalist and writer by passion, and a story teller by choice. I am a great believer in the ‘liberal arts’ and am interested in a wide variety of things, from ecology and environment to literature and life purpose. I believe in the power of stories to inspire, educate and influence people, especially children. I retired in 2003 as Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India. I hold a B.E. (Honours) degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Madras and M.Tech. and Ph.D. degrees in Industrial Management from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. I taught for over 30 years at IIT Kanpur and IIT Madras, handling a variety of courses on industrial engineering, management, environment, and development. At IIT Madras, I was also the Director of International Ocean Institute (IOI India) and coordinated several international ocean and environment-related courses and workshops. I have been giving presentations and conducting workshops on environment for different groups in India. I am a regular facilitator at Initiatives of Change, Panchgani, where I have made presentations on environment and life purpose to a large number of participants including 300 IAS and other Civil Services officers. I also co-direct an annual workshop on sustainability at the international community of Auroville, near Puducherry in south India. I have published 20 books on environment for schools, colleges and aspirants to the Civil Services. My university-level book, Environmental Studies: From Crisis to Cure has consistently been a bestseller on Amazon.in. In recent times, I have also written books on ethics meant for aspirants to the Civil Services. I now divide my time between Bangalore, India and Oakland, USA.