John Prandato is the Program Director for the Harvard Solar Geoengineering Research Program. Prior to joining the Salata Institute in 2025, he worked for ten years at the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future at Boston University. As Assistant Director of the Pardee Center, he oversaw the implementation of programs and activities, including its graduate summer fellows program and its faculty seed grant program. He also served as BU’s designated contact point for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Previously, he worked for a think tank that focuses on Massachusetts public policy and for a think tank that focuses on foreign policy, where he worked primarily on climate and energy issues. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a Master’s degree in Energy and Environmental Analysis from Boston University.
The Salata Institute
The Salata Institute supports interdisciplinary research that leads to real-world action, including high-risk/high-reward projects by researchers already working in the climate area and new endeavors that make it easier for Harvard scholars, who have not worked on climate problems, to do so. Faculty interested in the Climate Research Clusters program should note an upcoming deadline for concepts on April 1, 2024.