International Hydrology and Climate Change Expert Joins UCI Samueli School of Engineering

Irvine, Calif., July 2, 2003 — Soroosh Sorooshian, a National Academy of Engineering member whose methods for forecasting floods and global rainfall are used worldwide, has joined the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering faculty at UC Irvine.

Sorooshian will hold the title of Distinguished Professor, the highest campus-level faculty distinction. He also will have a secondary appointment in the Department of Earth System Science.

"Sorooshian's research in water resources has revolutionized the field," said Nicolaos G. Alexopoulos, dean of The Henry Samueli School of Engineering. "By bringing an internationally recognized expert like Professor Sorooshian and his research group to UCI, we intend to leverage the existing research strengths of our faculty to create a world-class hydrology program."

Sorooshian comes to UCI with approximately $1.6 million in research grants from NASA, National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). His research group — three faculty members, three post-doctoral researchers and eight doctoral students — will join him in Irvine.

In the late 1970s, Sorooshian broke new ground in the field of hydrology by creating the first methods to accurately forecast floods. Today, his methods are used by the National Weather Service and other organizations worldwide. He also is well known for his work in predicting global rainfall and understanding the dynamics of arid climates such as California's.

Called on nationally and internationally for his expertise, Sorooshian has testified before both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate on water resource issues. He chaired the National Academy of Sciences' Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment panel for six years and currently heads its Science Steering Group. He has served on numerous advisory committees, including those for the National Research Council, NASA and NOAA.

Sorooshian is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, International Water Resources Association, American Meteorological Society and American Geophysical Union (AGU), and past president of AGU's hydrology section.

He comes to UCI from the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he was Regents Professor of Hydrology and Water Resources and director of the NSF Science and Technology Center for Sustainability of Semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas. He earned a doctorate in engineering from UCLA in 1978 and was an assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland before moving to the University of Arizona in 1983.