Water Resources Graduate Program

My research interests focus on applied data science and predictive analytics in the context of environmental science and hydrometeorological forecasting. Originally trained as a geophysicist with a solid grounding in both digital signal processing and bottom-up process physics, my attention quickly turned to analysis and modeling of complex systems in hydrology, cryospheric science, and climate, and subsequently to data analytics and machine learning in general, which I have been working with for close to two decades. I am particularly intrigued by the integration of both underlying process physics and experiential human expert knowledge into data-driven quantitative analysis and prediction algorithms, particularly AI, and my work emphasizes bridging the gap between theory and practice. Most of my projects involve building and managing multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional, and frequently international teams.

Public outreach and engagement on science is also a particular point of interest for me. My popular science book, Where the River Runs: Scientific Reflections on Earth's Waterways, was published in spring 2017 by Princeton University Press (PUP) (http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10978.html) and has received positive coverage in Nature, Science News, and The Toronto Metro, among others. I've also given public lectures and book signings at the Smithsonian and at Science Pub events in Corvallis (OSU), Bend (OSU-Cascades), and Portland (OMSI) and a live radio interview with an NPR affiliate. My writing has additionally appeared on the PUP blog and in Scientific American and Wired.