Dr. Ravi Chopra is a B.Tech. in Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science from IIT Bombay in 1968. Later, he did doctoral research in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology, New Jersey.

Dr. Chopra is currently the Director of People’s Science Institute (PSI), Dehradun. The institute is a non-profit public interest research and
development organisation, known for its pioneering work in the areas of water resources management, environmental quality monitoring, disaster mitigation and conservation of rivers. At PSI, Dr. Chopra and his colleagues have innovated creative approaches to put science and technology in the service of India’s poorest people. A key element in their approach is to build the capacities of the poor to plan their own development, implement projects and then manage the assets created.

As a researcher, Ravi Chopra has focused on the interactions between technology and society and environment and development. He first received national recognition when he helped produce the first citizens’ report on the The State of India’s Environment in 1982. This report was critically acclaimed as “a unique effort anywhere in the world”. His analysis of India’s water requirements in the 21st century has also attracted attention. It specifies the nature of India’s water crises and sustainable methods for resolving them. In recognition of this work, Dr Chopra was made a member of the Working Group on Perspective Planning, National Commission for Integrated Water Resources Development in the 21st Century, Government of India.

Dr. Chopra has served and is serving on various committees of the Ministries of Rural Development and Water Resources, Government of India, and the Planning Commission. Currently, he is a member of the National Ganga River Basin Authority, chaired by the Prime Minister of India.

His current research interests are focused on the protection and regeneration of Himalayan rivers in India.