Harsh Rathod, Ph.D.

Harsh Rathod, Ph.D. has extensive experience in the engineering field. Harsh began their career in 2013 as an Intern at Larsen & Toubro, where they were responsible for engineering site work on a national highway construction project. In 2014, they were awarded a research assistantship to travel to Canada as a visiting research scholar from India at the University of Victoria, where they developed Fibre-Reinforced Geopolymer Concrete Pavers. From 2015 to 2017, they served as Vice President of the UVic ACI Student Chapter, with the goal of promoting concrete construction and design through educational, industrial, and community involvement. Harsh also worked as a Research Fellow at IC-IMPACTS Centres of Excellence, filing 2 patents (1 in the United States and 1 in India), submitting more than 4 journal articles and presenting several conference papers. In 2016, they acted as a Reviewer at ACI Materials and Structures Journal. In 2020, they became the Chief Executive Officer of Niricson, one of the fastest growing start-ups in Canada, providing asset managers and civil engineers with critical insights and visualization into the current condition of their asset. Prior to this, they were the Chief Executive Officer of HRG Infrastructure Monitoring Inc., where they took leadership in creating, communication, and implementing the vision and direction of HRG.

Harsh Rathod, Ph.D. obtained their Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech) in Civil Engineering from Nirma University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India between 2009 and 2013. Harsh then went on to obtain their Master of Technology (M.Tech.) in Structural Engineering from the same institution between 2013 and 2015. In 2015, they completed their Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Civil Engineering from the University of Victoria. Currently, they are enrolled in the Creative Destruction Lab for Business Administration, Management and Operations. In addition, they have obtained certifications such as the Restricted Operator Certificate- Aviation from Innovation, Science and Economic Development / Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique in November 2018, Nano fabrication techniques-EBL and FIB from the University of Victoria in February 2015, Special Flight Operating Certificate- Site Specific from Transport Canada - Transports Canada in November 2018, Level 1 Thermographer from FLIR Systems, and Scanning Electron Microscopy from the University of Victoria.