Dr. Rao has over 40 years of geo-environmental experience. He has managed and directed over 400 major geo-environmental projects involving site remediation, geological and hydrogeological investigations, environmental compliance/permitting, geotechnical investigations, multi-disciplinary A/E, design-build, and construction projects.

Dr. Rao’s expertise includes environmental site assessments, soil and groundwater contamination studies (including remediation), human health risk assessments, groundwater flow and contaminant transport, clean up levels evaluations, design and implementation of remedial actions, environmental permitting and compliance (NEPA, SEQR, NPDES, RCRA, ERCLA, UST, OSHA, Coastal Zone Management), wetlands delineations/permitting, green infrastructure design, and environmental forensics. Dr. Rao provided these services to various industrial clients, commercial clients, law firms, contractors, A/E Firms, and State/Local/Federal Government. He served as a Program Manager for Department of Defense (DOD) Projects (Air Force, Army, Navy, US Army Corps of Engineers, and National Guard), and projects with US Department of Transportation, U.S. EPA, and other agencies.

Dr. Bhagavathula is a registered Professional Geologist in several states and is a Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) in the State of New Jersey. He received a Ph. D degree in Geochemistry/Geology from Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. Later, he continued his post-doctoral studies in geology/geochemistry at the University of Toronto (Canada). He holds a Master’s degree in Applied Geology (Geological Engineering and Hydrogeology) and a Bachelor’s degree majoring in Mathematics, Physics and Geology. He published over 40 peer reviewed publications in international journals, books, and conference proceedings. Dr. Rao was formerly employed by Hydro-Search (now part of TetraTech), Woodward-Clyde (now part of URS/AECOM), Geraghty & Miller (now part of Arcadis), GZA Geoenvironmental, Dresdner Robin Environmental Management, and regional A/E Firms in New York. Dr. Rao served as the Chair of Small Business Council, Society of American Military Engineers (SAME)/NJ Post from 2009 through 2017.