UCI Environmental Engineer Recognized with Hydrological Sciences Medal

Efi Foufoula-GeorgiouOct.4, 2016 - The American Meteorological Society (AMS) has awarded Efi Foufoula-Georgiou the Hydrologic Sciences Medal for “her pioneering contributions to the science of hydrometeorology and for visionary and sustained leadership in advancing interdisciplinary hydrologic research.”

A Distinguished Professor in civil and environmental engineering, Foufoula-Georgiou is considered one of the world’s leading hydrologists and water resources engineers. Her research focuses on hydrology and geomorphology, with special attention to scaling theories, multiscale dynamics and space-time modeling of precipitation and landforms. Her innovations have improved predictions of space-time variabilities, as well as the uncertainties of water, sediment and land processes in response to climate and human disturbance.

“I am deeply honored and humbled by the award, and I am particularly proud to see that it recognizes not only my own research but my strong belief and commitment in promoting and enabling interdisciplinary research,” said Foufoula-Georgiou. “I’m looking forward to an exciting journey at UCI.”

Foufoula-Georgiou joined the faculty at the Samueli School of Engineering this fall. She has served on many national and international advisory boards, including the National Academy of Sciences Water Science and Technology Board, the NSF Advisory Council for Geosciences, NASA Earth Sciences Subcommittee and EU advisory boards. She is currently a presidential appointee to the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board and president of American Geophysical Union’s Hydrology Section. She is a recipient of the John Dalton Medal of the European Geophysical Society, AGU’s Hydrological Sciences Award and the AMS Horton Lecturer award. She is a fellow of AGU and AMS and a member of the European Academy of Sciences.

The AMS Hydrologic Sciences Medal is granted annually to researchers who make outstanding contributions to scientific knowledge in hydrology, hydrometeorology and/or hydroclimatology, including interactions between the land surface and the atmosphere.