Biography
Rana is a PhD researcher at the IfM (Industrial Resilience Research Group). Her work focuses on the intersection of industrial metabolism, resource sovereignty, intelligence studies and digitization for the diffusion of industrial symbiosis in increasingly complex geopolitical and economic environments. Her research integrates open-source intelligence (OSINT) methodologies to analyze resource security dynamics within industrial networks. She also serves as Industrial Fellow at the Global Supply Chain Observatory at the Department of Engineering.
With over 13 years of experience spanning marine conservation, litigation, and chemicals manufacturing, Rana founded The Surpluss in 2021, the region's leading climate-technology company, now a Future 100 company (Ministry of Economy, UAE), B Corp certified, and operating across three continents. The Surpluss was recognized as a 2x Top Innovator by the World Economic Forum and won the prestigious global BRICS Solution Award for circular economy. Rana holds a U.S. patent for developing systems for circular economy standardization and resource sharing, and a provisional U.S patent for Vertical Industrial Symbiosis, a novel methodology for resource securitization and enhanced productivity. She also serves as a government adviser on matters pertaining to AI and digital capabilites for circular economy and digital industrial symbiosis diffusion.
Rana holds an MSt in Sustainability Leadership from the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership (CISL) with distinction, an LLM in International Law from Middlesex University, an M.Phil in International Peace Studies (specializing in transboundary resource management), and a B.A. in Philosophy, Political Science, Economics & Sociology (PPES) from Trinity College Dublin. She is an accredited GRI Sustainability Professional, Sustainability Excellence Associate, and Biomimicry Practitioner.
A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), Climatebase Fellow, Forbes Business Council member, and 2024 Harvard Climate Entrepreneurs Circle selectee, Rana is a trusted thought leader on supply chain sustainability, climate mitigation, and circular economy in the Arabian Gulf. Her op-eds have been featured by Harvard Business Review, Reuters, BBC, CNN, and The National. In 2024, she was featured in Vanity Fair's Global Goals list for championing UN SDG 12 and served as a reviewer for the Seventh Edition of the Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-7), UNEP's flagship report.
Rana also serves as part-time student representative for doctoral students at the Department of Engineering.
Please contact rh814@cam.ac.uk for collaborations.
Department role and responsibilities