Prof. Yoshihide Wada joined KAUST in December, 2022. Before joining KAUST, ss Director of IIASA’s Biodiversity and Natural Resources (BNR) Program, Prof. Yoshihide Wada led strategic science development (>100 staff) and acquired research projects totaling over 9 million EUR in the last few years. He led development projects with development banks (World Bank) to translate robust scientific knowledge into local and regional policies. Among his international projects are Global Water Scarcity Information Service, ISI-MIP, WRI Aqueduct, and EartH2Observe. He also worked on IPCC AR5/6, UNEP GEO-6, and G20 Action Plan on Water. Prof. Wada has been invited to over 300 conferences worldwide and (co)authored close to 250 publications. He has global multidisciplinary collaborations (>100 external partners) on the topics of water, food, energy, biodiversity, earth observation, and economics.​