Patrick S. Ward is an assistant professor of environmental economics and policy in the iMEP Program (Master of Environmental Policy) at Duke Kunshan University (DKU) in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, China. Prior to joining the DKU faculty, he was a research fellow in the Environment and Production Technology Division at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), first in New Delhi, India and later in Washington, DC.

Ward's primary research interests center around sustainable development, with a particular emphasis on developing country agriculture. Having been based in the South Asia region for four years (2012-2016), he has extensive experience conducting research throughout the region (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan). His current research portfolio includes projects on agricultural risk management (including insurance and other financial products as well as stress-tolerant staple crop cultivars), soil fertility management and soil conservation, inclusive development of rural agricultural machinery markets, and water resource management. Ward holds a Ph.D. in agricultural economics with a specialization in international development from Purdue University.