By integrating MIT’s technology expertise into BRAC’s numerous and cross‑cutting humanitarian, development and climate programs, this project will transform climate adaptation outcomes—first for the people of Bangladesh, and then the world.
This project is a partnership between BRAC and MIT.
BRAC
Founded in 1972, less than a year after Bangladesh achieved independence, BRAC has empowered millions of vulnerable people to overcome poverty. Today, BRAC brings inclusive, innovative and evidence‑based economic development, climate resilience and life‑saving humanitarian assistance programs to more than 110 million people globally. With an annual operating budget of over $1 billion USD, BRAC has been ranked the #1 NGO in the world for four years running and is widely admired for its long‑term vision, durability and scale.
MIT
As a globally preeminent science and engineering institution, MIT has developed world‑leading expertise and capabilities in climate science and high‑resolution forecasting, socioeconomic and resource modeling, and novel power, water and agriculture technologies. Moreover, MIT has for decades created, deployed and maintained decision support systems to inform and empower decision‑makers in the most challenging environments. These technologies have been deployed at scale, and are in use around the world.
- Eltahir Group
- Center for Global Change Science
- Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change
- Lincoln Laboratory
- Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab
Project Leaders
Elfatih Eltahir, MIT
Dr. Elfatih Eltahir is the Breene M. Kerr Professor of Hydrology and Climate at MIT. Elfatih’s research focuses on how global climate change may impact society, especially in Africa and Asia. For over 25 years Elfatih has developed world-leading computational models to predict regional and local impacts of climate change; with these models, he has studied the “hottest” spots on Earth, predicting that habitability of these regions will be limited due to deadly heat waves. This emerging phenomenon, and Elfatih’s work, have received broad international media attention, and will play a significant role in shaping policy debate about climate change.
Saleemul Huq, BRAC
Dr. Saleemul Huq is BRAC’s Climate Change Advisor and Director of the International Centre for Climate Change & Development in Bangladesh. He is a Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Environment & Development in the UK, where he builds negotiating capacity and supports the engagement of Least Developed Countries in the UNFCCC. He has worked extensively in the inter-linkages between climate change and sustainable development and has been named among the “World’s 100 Most Influential People in Climate Policy for 2019”. Dr. Huq has participated in every International Climate Negotiation of the United Nations, since its inception in 1992.
John Aldridge, MIT Lincoln Laboratory
John Aldridge is the Assistant Leader of the Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief Systems Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. For nearly seventy years, Lincoln Laboratory has prototyped and deployed innovative technologies and analytical capabilities in support of government and civil society decision-makers around the world; today, John’s team leverages the research and development expertise of the Laboratory’s nearly 4000 staff in support of international and domestic humanitarian assistance, economic and social development, and disaster relief organizations such as USAID, FEMA, NATO, the American Red Cross, and others.