Professor Julien Harou is Chair in Water Engineering since 2013. Previously he was a lecturer at University College London. He has a PhD from the University of California Davis in water resources engineering and economics and an Master’s degree from Cornell University.

Julien's group contributes globally leading research in water resources planning and management, water-energy-food systems, and environmental management software.  He recently served as research director of the $10M UKRI-funded FutureDAMS global challenge research project. This led to the creation of the www.waterstrategy.org design portal.

His group is currently working on the Nexus Gains project with IWMI, and various bilateral projects in the UK, Africa and Asia. Past projects include the NERC Water Stewardship Portal project, the NERC UMFULA project, the German-funded WISE-UP climate change adaptation project, the NSF-Belmont funded Jordan water security project, the EU SmartH20 project on smart metering and dynamic pricing, EPSRC Transforming water scarcity through trade project, and the EPSRC Adaptation and Resilience to climate change project. His group co-built the analytical engines behind the Water Resources of the South East, and Water Resources East regional infrastructure investment planning projects, and is a contributor to TNC’s Hydropower by Design approach and WWF's Connected and Flowing initiative.

Current and recent collaborators include the IWMI, the World Bank, IUCN, UK water regulators (EA, Ofwat), UK water companies, WWF, TNC, IFC, DEFRA, the European Commission, IHA, and various consultancies. Julien serves on IWMI's Board of Governors as independent advisor to the Programme Committee.

He received a NASA Launch Innovator award for his group's early contributions to open-source water management software. Julien is an Honorary Professor at UCL.