Harvard University's Office of the Vice Provost for Research and the Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs March 29 announced that Gautam Rao was among its 2018 award recipients for the Lemann Brazil Research Fund.

“We had the largest and most competitive applicant pool yet in the history of the Fund,” Rick McCullough, vice provost for research and professor of materials science and engineering, said in a statement.

“Decisions were difficult, but we were particularly impressed by the seven proposals selected, and we are excited to see these research projects move forward.”

Rao was chosen for his project, “Overcoming Barriers to Adoption of Effective Municipal Policies.”

The Indian American is an assistant professor of the Department of Economics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. He is conducting the project with co-investigators Jonas Hjort of Columbia University, Diana Moreira of U.C. Davis and Juan Francisco Santini of Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.

Established in 2016 by a gift from the Lemann Foundation, the Lemann Brazil Research Fund supports Brazil-related research in all areas related to education, as well as research in any other disciplinary area undertaken with a Brazilian colleague.

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