Reza Ardakanian was born in 1958 in Yazd, Iran. He is a scientist, politician and former Minister of Energy (2017-2021) of Iran who has worked for the UN system in UN-water and United Nations University for a decade (2007-2017).
Currently, he is a faculty member of the Civil Eng. Dept. at Sharif University of Technology, Tehran-Iran. He holds a BSc in civil engineering from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran (1983), a MSc in water resources engineering (1993), and a PhD in water resources management from McMaster University in Canada (1997). He has been a faculty member of Sharif University of Technology in Tehran since 1998 where 15 PhD and MSc students have been graduated under his supervision and he has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University from 1999-2006. He has authored, co-authored, and edited around 95 publications, including books, journal papers, research reports, lecture notes, and articles for the media.