ABOUT ME
About me
Building a sustainable future
Prof. Cesar Marolla’s Biography
by Robert Woods,Ph.D.
A modern-era polymath, Cesar Marolla, PhD (c), is a professor of Sustainable Urbanization and Development at Nalanda University, and the lead author for the World Bank sub-Saharan Africa climate resilience and investment program.
An international sustainability leader, guitar virtuoso, and composer, who recorded with Grammy Award winners’ artists, members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic, jazz and flamenco masters, as well as an accomplished martial artist, and published author, professor Marolla has brought strategy concepts to bear on many of the most challenging global issues, collaborating with world leaders from the World Bank, UN, Harvard and Columbia University.
He traveled broadly and worked with leading academic and scientific institutions in sustainability, climate change, disaster management, and public health. Along with many of his accomplishments, Mr. Marolla has competed and won titles participating in Judo tournaments and obtained a Black Belt (1st. Dan) in Shaolin Kung Fu. Since he was 9 years old, he became an accomplished guitarist and his technical ability took him to travel the world recording and performing with major international artists in Europe, North and South America, Middle East, and North-east Africa, such as Frank Sinatra, Grammy Award winner Bebu Silvetti, and featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the VVC Symphonic Orchestra, open act for world-renowned jazz master Al Di Meola and a brief stint in Europe with the late master flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia. He also released several music albums and considered by many media outlets and experts as a virtuoso guitarist, entering the Beethoven Conservatory and obtaining the diploma of superior teacher of guitar at the young age of seventeen. Also, he studied theory, harmony, and composition, in addition to receiving four years of jazz lessons by prominent Argentine jazz master Walter Malosetti.
By the age of sixteen Marolla was already considered a guitar virtuoso, with his name later included in the 2004 Guitar Encyclopedia written by prominent musicologist, guitarist, pedagogue, and composer Francisco Herrera.
Cesar has not stopped in pursuing other interests. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science from Columbia College, and a Master’s degree from Harvard University and published his thesis: Climate Change Impacts on Health: The Urban Poor in the World’s Megacities, he embarked on international talks in prestigious conferences such as United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: Conference of the Parties, Harvard Global Health Institute, and the University of Miami Climate and Health Symposiums just to mention a few, among prominent world leaders in climate change, and public health.
Professor Marolla’s knowledge spans a significant number of topics, and he is renowned to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve global issues affecting today’s society. He built frameworks and pragmatic solutions using risk management and risk mechanism design models to develop and implement policies, and policy decison-making solutions to achieve social, and economic equality and environmental protection to achieve sustainable development.
Professor Cesar Marolla is the recipient of the 2013 Harvard University Derek Bok Civic Prize Award that recognizes creative initiatives in community service and long-standing records of civic achievement. He also received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Pentagon for his volunteerism supporting US troops in the Middle East and Northeast Africa under the umbrella of the Global War on Terror (GWOT). Moreover, he received a “Military Coin,” which is given as a token of affiliation, support, patronage, respect, honor, and gratitude, and presented by the Camp Victory Commander in Kuwait, Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence J. Smith.
He has earned a bachelor of science from Columbia College and a master’s degree in sustainability and environmental management from Harvard University. He is also a graduate of the Executive Program in Sustainability Leadership at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health— The Center for Health and the Global Environment and a member of the Harvard Advisory Council for the Sustainability Curriculum.
Presently, Cesar is a Ph.D. candidate at Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland, U.K., under the supervision of Dr. Rohinton Emmanuel, who leads the Sustainable Urban Environment Research Group (SUE-RG) and is an elected member of and Secretary to the Board of the International Association for Urban Climate (IAUC) and a member of a World Meteorological Organization Expert Team on Urban and Building Climatology and the Working Group on ‘Climate Change and the Built Environment’ (W108) of the International Council for Buildings (CIB).
As a published author, Cesar has written “Climate Health Risks in Megacities: Sustainable Management and Strategic Planning” and “Information and Communication Technology for Sustainable Development” published by the international leading publisher in medicine, engineering, and environmental science, Taylor and Francis Group, and named one of the top 100 best sustainable development books of all time along with Jeffrey Sachs, Jim Yong Kim, and Christiana Figueres publications.
The fervor of intellectual pursuits still requires creativity in arts, the sharpening of the physical body, and the seeking of emotional truth. Cesar serves as a model that living a full life is to live your life to the fullest and live it as a complete whole through many different forms.
– R. Woods, Ph.D.
Education
Ph.D. (c), Sustainable Urban Environments, Department of Civil Engineering and Environmental Management, Glasgow Caledonian University, U.K.
ALM, Master’s degree in Sustainability and Environmental Management, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. USA
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Executive Education Program, Boston, MA. USA
- Bachelor of Science- Cum Laude, Columbia College, MO. USA
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
- Environmental Science, Environmental Management, Sustainable Urbanization and Development, Urban Climate assessments, Sustainability, Climate Health Risks, Climate Change, Risk Mechanism Design, Integrated Climate Assessments, Business Continuity Management Systems, Climate Risk Management.
Climate, Health, and Cities
My work with the World Bank in association with Industrial Economics (IEc) working on climate resilience and investment programs in the sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, my research papers, and collaborations with UN, climate scientists, Columbia, and Harvard University in addition to city mayors in issues such as climate variability and change strategies, disaster management, environmental and risk management, and public health risks faced by urban dwellers.
Sustainable Urbanization and Development
I teach the course Sustainable Urbanization and Development for the MBA programme in Sustainable Development and Management at Nalanda University. The University has a rich history and it is considered by historians to be the world’s very first residential university, and among the greatest centers of learning in the ancient world. Nalanda played a vital role in promoting the patronage of arts and academics during the 5th and 6th century CE, a period that has since been described as the “Golden Age of India“ by scholars.
Art and Science: The Pursuit of Knowledge
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Bulmudo Kung Fu: The path of the martial artist
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My Music
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Gallery: A Life Journey of Scientific Research and Guitar Music
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“Climate Change Impacts on Health: The Urban Poor in the World’s Megacities”
Author
Harvard University Thesis. Thesis Director, Rich Good. MBA and Robert Pojasek, PhD. (click on text to access Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard).
Abstract
This research addresses the research question of whether climate change could disproportionately affect the health of the urban poor living in the world’s megacities. It seeks to explain the health consequences of climate change and the impacts on urban populations, how major cities should respond with preparedness and adaptation strategies to lessen impacts and collective actions that can be taken to mitigate the health risks associated with climate change.
Photo credit: The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. (1900 – 1902). Johnston Gate, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Academic and Scientific Endorsements
I am humbled and grateful to have the support and endorsement of the following academic and scientific leaders about my research.
Thank you!
This volume provides the reader with a rich and thorough perspective on the impact of climate change
while incorporating the voices of experts in the field. Mr. Cesar Marolla was able to identify numerous
health risks implicated by climate change, including both physical and psychological challenges.
Sustainable solutions and strategies for building resilient communities are later discussed. Importantly,
Climate Health Risks in Megacities provokes readers to consider the pragmatic and actionable risk
management strategies and inspire change, and the concepts are applied to present day megacities
through case studies and innovative research.
Yuval Neria, PhD – Professor of Medical Psychology at the Departments of Psychiatry and Epidemiology
at Columbia University Medical Center, and Director of Trauma and PTSD Program.
Photo: Sir Andy Haines, PhD., one of the first scientists to sound the alarm that changes to the natural environment have dangerous implications for human health, at The Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia, for the Climate and Health meeting.
The literature is replete with information on the wide range of threats and opportunities facing the
world’s largest cities. Cesar Marolla took the next step to examine how these findings affect the public
health of the people residing in or visiting these cities. Mr. Marolla also determined how sustainability
can be used to address the health of a large portion of the world’s population. If you are interested in
the ‘people part’ of the triple bottom line, this book is a must read for you.
Robert B. Pojasek, Ph.D.
Harvard University
“Every city has unique challenges and opportunities in adapting to the perils of climate change.
Climate change makes weather extremes worse than they would otherwise be naturally. The increasing
frequency, intensity and duration of heat-waves in particular will impact the health of the urban poor.
This book is a tour de force on how megacities are test-beds of progress in adapting critical human
systems to a warming world.”
Adam Smith – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Photo: United Nations Conference of the Parties COP 21 in Bonn, Germany.
My Current Scientific Research Work and Lectures
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Harvard Global Health Institute- “Planning for the Flood: Anticipating Climate Migration and its Health Consequences” panel at our Climate Change, Migration and Health Symposium. I continue this work with new research on mental health risks of climate chnage impacts. My research is being conducted in India and Ghana urban areas.
UN Momentum for Change Initiative – ICT Climate Action: The UN is keen to showcase innovative solutions in the ICT sector which can play a major role in curbing global greenhouse gas emissions. Momentum for Change, an initiative of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, showcast a panel of world leaders tackling climate chnage and the role of ICT to cope with climate risks.
Nalanda University MBA programme in Sustainable Development and Management. I teach the Sustainable Urbanization and Development elective course that exposes the students to the foundations of urban
development including the opportunities and challenges in context of climate
change. Addressing the issues and challenges associated with mitigating the effects of climate change is enormously difficult. However, this course lays out a framework for action. By using established international standards that provide step-by-step guidance, along with a compelling business case for action, urban environments that face harmful climate impacts can begin to systematically address these risks. We focus on developing a compelling business case, where cities across the world can begin to lay out a long-term plan for action.
The World Bank: Lead author, climate resilience program and investment, sub-Saharan Africa, the World Bank Group in association with Industrial Economics (IEc). I developed a climate resilience assessment and program in urban areas for climate related disasters which have a significant negative impact on medium-term growth, especially for sub-Saharan Africa.
Unted Nations climate change, public health and cities in Africa: I presented a lecture on climate, health and cities. The stability of the global economy and political order are critically dependent on two inextricable factors: megacities and public health. Protecting the public health of these urban areas has more far-reaching repercussions than protecting the health of individuals in those densely populated areas.
A health problem in one city can spread rapidly to other parts of the
world, leading to widespread public health concerns and destabilizing the city’s operations. The effects are felt not just
in the health sector but throughout the entire system.
The following photos are the work of a remarkable individual. I am humbled and grateful to collaborate. Ed Ram is a photojournalist and reporter based between Kyiv and Nairobi. Ed has reported on conflict, social justice and climate change around the world, specialising in east African and eastern Europe.
Over the past year Ed has focused on photography and has worked for National Geographic and AFP in Kenya and Somalia and The Guardian in Ukraine, Kenya and Mozambique. Between 2012 and 2019 Ed was staff at BBC News where he worked on flagship output as a Senior Producer and film maker. Ed is HEFAT and Public Order trained and has an MA in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography from London Collage of Communication.
Ed Ram's website
