AghaKouchak Receives International Research Acclaim

Dec. 17, 2018 - Amir AghaKouchak, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, is one of only 10 scientists worldwide – and the sole researcher from the United States – to be recognized by the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics with its Early Career Scientist Award. The honor acknowledges outstanding research in Earth and space sciences as well as international research cooperation.

AghaKouchak’s interdisciplinary research traverses hydrology, climatology, statistics and remote sensing to address critical global water-resource issues. He has been at the Samueli School since 2010, when he joined the Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing as a postdoctoral fellow.

AghaKouchak, who also won the 2017 Hydrologic Sciences Early Career Award from the American Geophysical Union, will accept his IUGG award in July at the organization’s General Assembly in Montreal, Canada. He, along with the other honorees, will deliver a talk at the symposium.

His talk will focus on compound and cascading extreme weather events, which can lead to significant societal or environmental risk, he said. Compound events can include concurrent droughts and heatwaves, while cascading extremes refers to chains of adverse events, like heavy rain over burned areas leading to debris flow and flooding.

“I am grateful to the nominators and the IUGG Honors Committee for this recognition,” said AghaKouchak, who credits the work of his current and former collaborators, students and postdocs. “I am truly honored and humbled.” 

- Anna Lynn Spitzer