Bio
Bharat Rao is a Visiting Scholar at the Blum Center for Emerging Economies at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Research Professor in the Department of Technology Management and Innovation at New York University in the Tandon School of Engineering.. Between 2009-2018, he was the Chair of the Department. In 2019, he was a Joint Faculty member at the US Army CCDC (Combat Capabilities Development Command), formerly RDECOM (Research, Development and Engineering Development Command). Previously, he was also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Center for Technology and National Security Policy at the National Defense University, Fort McNair, Washington D.C.; a Research Affiliate at the European Institute of Interdisciplinary Research, Paris, France; and an Academic Advisor at the Institute for Innovation and Information Productivity in San Francisco. He is the author of Defense Technological Innovation: Issues and Challenges in an Era of Converging Technologies, published by Edward Elgar UK.
Profesor Rao earned a Ph.D. in Marketing and Strategic Management from The University of Georgia, and received a bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the National Institute of Technology in India. Prior to joining NYU, he was a post-doctoral Research Associate at Harvard Business School in Boston. He has been a Visiting Professor at the Center for Advanced Learning Technologies, INSEAD, in Fontainebleau, France, and an Othmer Faculty Fellow from 2002-2004 at Polytechnic University. In 1995, he was an American Marketing Association Doctoral Consortium Fellow at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He was an External Advisor for formulating a telecommunications and economic development strategy for New York City, for the Office of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. He has also served on the panel of judges of the George Foster Peabody Awards, and the Association for Management Consulting awards, the TiE University Pitch Competition, and the NYU Policy Case Competition.
Dr. Rao’s research has examined the impact of information and communications technologies on multiple industries including retailing, logistics and distribution, supply chain management, wireless and broadband innovation, financial services, entertainment and media. His current research focuses on the diffusion of emerging technologies, national security and defense innovation, technology innovation and entrepreneurship, business model evolution, the role of technology in development, and global innovation strategy. His research has been published in the Communications of the ACM, European Management Journal, Defense Horizons, Parameters: The US Army War College Quarterly, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Journal of Computer Mediated Communications, EM-Electronic Markets, Management Online Review, Journal of Media Management, Technology in Society, International Business Review, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management, and in numerous conference proceedings and book chapters. He is also the author of multiple business case studies which have been published by Harvard Business School Publishing, the Institute for Technology and Enterprise, and the European Case Clearing House. His recent research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, NYSTAR (New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research), the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance, and the Othmer Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies. Dr. Rao serves on the editorial boards of various academic journals including IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, EM-Electronic Markets, International Journal of Business Data Communications and Networking, International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management, and Management Online Review. From 1998-2001, he was an academic advisory board member of the Harvard-Wharton Merchandising Effectiveness Project. At NYU-Poly, he has been part of several faculty groups including the NYU Abu Dhabi Coordinating Group for Engineering, and the ePoly Oversight Board.
Dr. Rao has been an invited speaker at industry and academic events in the US, Europe, India, Israel, Singapore, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates, and has taught in graduate and executive management programs at NYU Poly, Harvard Business School, INSEAD, State University of New York (SUNY), Tufts University, and the SP Jain Center of Management. He is also a Founding Member of GlobDev, a special interest group on ICT and global development at the Association for Information Systems.