Research Areas
Our group covers water resources planning and management, hydropower planning and operations, the water-energy-food nexus, water resources economics, and coupled human-water systems. Our approaches help plan sustainable water infrastructure, considering engineering and socio-economic dimensions while adapting to future uncertainties such as climate change. Our research contributes to several domestic and international sustainability goals, including Zero Hunger, Clean Water and Sanitation, Affordable and Clean Energy, Reduced Inequalities, and Climate Action.
We develop innovative interdisciplinary approaches for water resources planning and management on scales ranging from small watersheds to provincial and regional systems, bridging the gap between data and decisions.
Our approaches span four main areas, as shown in the Figure below:
Data Collection
Data is a critical component for effective water resources management. We utilize several key secondary data sources combined with cutting-edge technologies, such as unmanned aerial and surface vehicles.
Simulation of water resource systems
We develop and use hydrological, river system infrastructure, and economy models combined with climate change projections and other further uncertainties to assess the current state of water resource systems and future performance under various scenarios.
Searching for efficient plans
We link simulation models to AI-based algorithms to enable sifting through the complex and nonlinear nature of water resource systems and identify efficient portfolios of investment and management plans that maximize the synergies and balance the tradeoffs between engineering, social, economic, and environmental performance measures.
Stakeholder engagement
Engagement activities aim to co-design projects and solutions, gather feedback, and provide training. Through stakeholder engagement, the outcomes of the data collection, simulation, and search activities are refined to arrive at, where possible, balanced (i.e., socially acceptable) performance across time (e.g., the temporal distribution of impacts), space (e.g., regions), and communities.
