Dr. Kavita Surana

Kavita Surana’s research is focused on innovation in clean energy technologies to address global and local environmental challenges—from early stage innovation to late stage deployment. She is particularly interested in the interaction between public policy and decision-making in private industry and the impacts on competitive advantage of firms and regions.

Kavita was previously research associate and postdoctoral fellow in the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Kavita has worked with the World Bank, ICF International, and other private organizations, analyzing and advising on a range of issues related to innovation, energy policy, and energy investments. Prior to her involvement with public policy research, Kavita worked on developing innovative solar cells at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) during her PhD in materials science and engineering from the Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble (INP-Grenoble), France. She was an Erasmus Mundus scholar during her MS in materials science at Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse, France and holds a BSc in Physics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, India.