About Dr. Claudio Meier

I was appointed Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Memphis in the Fall of 2015. I previously held the same position at the University of Concepción, in Chile. I am a water resources engineer specializing in ecohydrology and ecohydraulics. I obtained both a B.Sc. and Professional Diploma in Civil Engineering from the University of Concepción, a M.Sc. in Civil Engineering (hydraulic engineering) from Colorado State University, and a Ph.D. in Biology (river ecology) from the University of Montana. My main interests are the science and sustainable management of river systems, and hydrological science and engineering.

I have 25 years of experience teaching water engineering and environmental science courses at undergraduate and graduate levels. I am also a professional engineer in Chile, with a broad consulting experience in river engineering, hydrologic/hydraulic design of civil works, and environmental studies for water projects. I am a Board Member of the Ecohydraulics Committee in the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR), a Voting Board Member of the International Society for River Science (ISRS), a Member of the Steering Committee for the Andong River Experiment Forum (Korea), and an associate member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. I am also in the Editorial Board of the International Journal of River Basin Management, and have reviewed manuscripts for the Journal of Hydrology, Journal of Applied Water Engineering and Research, Freshwater Biology, River Research and Applications, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, two book chapters, and a book.

I am looking for PhD students. If you are interested in interdisciplinary research in rivers or in hydrological engineering and science, please send me your complete CV.

Research Interests

My research is interdisciplinary, centered on fluvial processes, environmental change in rivers, and rainfall analysis. I try to focus on topics that are both scientifically relevant and applicable, always recognizing the scarcity and uncertainty of the available data. I stress the observation of the natural systems and a sound qualitative understanding of the physical processes, before the application of complicated mathematical methods. Most typically, my work is a combination of theory, field observations and rigorous laboratory/outdoor experiments, which attempts to elucidate the interactions between hydraulics, vegetation, hydrology, sediment transport, hyporheic flows and river landforms, over a range of scales, but focusing at the bar scale.

I have generated novel, significant concepts and methodologies in the topics of vegetation establishment in riparian environments, underestimation of extreme rainfall intensities, hyporheic exchange flows, interannual variability of precipitation, environmental impacts of hydropower, and spatial variability in gravel-bed rivers. I have also conducted research on the hydraulics of gutter flows, large outburst floods in Patagonia, temperature regimes in rivers, and urban flooding.

My current research interests are in:

• Fluvial processes in gravel-bed rivers:
  1. Early establishment of riparian trees
  2. Spatial variability of the surficial and subsurficial texture in bars
  3. Dynamics of the water table and piezometric gradients within bars
  4. Hyporheic exchange flows under river bars
  5. Effects of invasive plants in fluvial systems
  6. Methods for better describing the spatial variability in gravel-bed rivers
• Rainfall analysis:
  1. Interannual variability of rainfall with derived distributions
  2. Negative biases in extreme precipitation events

Publications

(* denotes undergraduate students; ^# graduate students)

Refereed Journal Papers:

Meier, C.I., J. Moraga^#, G. Pranzini*, and P. Molnár. 2016. Effects of record length and resolution on the derived distribution of annual precipitation, accepted for publication in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences [Impact Factor: 3.99; 5-yr IF: 4.54]

Nardini, A., C.I. Meier, and M. Gomes Miguez. 2016. The fluvial space: Comparison of the legal-administrative frameworks of Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, and Italy and criteria to define fluvial corridors. Aqua-LAC, 8(1), 68-79 (Journal of the International Hydrological Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean, in Spanish).

Meier, C.I., B.L. Reid, and O. Sandoval*. 2013. "Effects of the invasive plant Lupinus polyphyllus on vertical accretion of fine sediment and nutrient availability in bars of the gravel-bed Paloma river." Limnologica: Ecology and Management of Inland Waters, 43(5): 381-87. [Impact Factor: 1.66; 5-yr IF: 1.95]

Link, O., A. Huerta*, A. Stehr, A. Monsalve*, C.I. Meier, and M. Aguayo. 2013. The solar to stream power ratio: A dimensionless number explaining diel fluctuations of temperature in mesoscale rivers. River Research and Applications, 29(6): 792-803. [IF: 1.971; 5-yr IF: 2.310]

Andreoli, A., L. Mao, A. Iroumé, J.L. Arumí, A. Nardini, R. Pizarro, D. Caamaño, C. Meier, and O. Link. 2012. The need for a hydromorphological approach to Chilean river management. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural, Vol. 85, 339-343 [Impact Factor: 0.850; 5-yr IF: 1.059]

Dussaillant, A., W. Buytaert, C.I. Meier, and F. Espinoza. 2012. "Hydrological Regime of Remote Catchments with Extreme Gradients under Accelerated Change: The Baker Basin in Patagonia". Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57(8): 1530-42 [IF: 1.252; 5-yr IF: 1.934]

Kargel, J., P. Alho, W. Buytaert, R. Célleri, J. G. Cogley, A. Dussaillant, Z. Guido, W. Haeberli, S. Harrison, G. Leonard, A. Maxwell, C. Meier, G. Poveda, B. Reid, J. Reynolds, C. Portocarrero-Rodriguez, H. Romero, and J. Schneider. 2012 "Glaciers in Patagonia: controversy and prospects". EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, Vol. 93(22): 212

Meier, C.I., and F.R. Hauer. 2010. Strong effect of coarse surface layer on moisture within gravel bars: Results from an outdoor experiment. Water Resources Research, Vol. 46(5), W05507. [ISI Impact Factor: 3.709; 5-yr Impact Factor: 3.450]

Dussaillant, A.R., G. Benito, W. Buytaert, P.Carling, C.I. Meier, and F. Espinoza. 2009. Repeated glacial-lake outburst floods in Patagonia: An increasing hazard? Natural Hazards, 54(2): 469-481. [IF: 1.958; 5-yr IF: 1.710; manuscript cited in 60+ articles]

Goodwin, P., K. Jorde, C.I. Meier, and O. Parra. 2006. Minimizing environmental impacts of hydropower development: transferring lessons from past projects to a proposed strategy for Chile. Journal of Hydroinformatics, 8(4): 253-270 [IF: 1.336; 5-yr IF: 1.460; one of the most accessed papers in this journal; cited in 20+ articles] 

Articles Submitted and in Preparation:

Oñat^#, A., B.L. Reid, and C.I. Meier. "Hyporheic exchange fluctuations in gravel bars of braided rivers with multiple diel forcing: relative contribution of cycles in hydraulic gradient, inundation area and conductivity". Submitted to Water Resources Research.

Flores^#, E., C.I. Meier, G. Montalva, and B.L. Reid. "Effects of oven-drying on the hydraulic conductivity and water holding capacity of volcanic ash and tephra". In preparation for submission to Engineering Geology.

Sepúlveda, H.H., C. Parada, O. Artal, G. Olivares, and C.I. Meier. "Evaluation of the mean annual and seasonal dynamics of a high-resolution ocean model off South-Central Chile". In preparation.

Meier, C.I., C. Olivares-Sepúlveda^#, and J. Stella. "Rock mulching in gravel bed rivers: Simulating its effects on early establishment of an invasive riparian tree". In preparation for submission to Ecohydrology.

Books and Book Chapters:

Benito G., V.R. Thorndycraft,M.J. Machado, C. Sancho, A. Dussaillant, and C.I. Meier. 2014. Magnitude and timing of Holocene glacial lake outburst floods in the Baker River, Northern Patagonian Icefield, Chile, in: S. Schnabel and A. Gómez Gutiérrez (Eds). "Avances de la Geomorfología en España 2012-14". Sociedad Española de Geomorfología (in Spanish).

Meier, C.I. 2009. Hydroecology. Section 4.10 in: "Guide to Hydrological Practices", 6th Ed., Publication WMO-No. 168, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.

Meier, C.I. 2001 (Ed.). "Proceedings of the XVth Chilean Congress of Hydraulic Engineering", Concepción, November 2001. Sociedad Chilena de Ingeniería Hidráulica (in Spanish)

Meier, C.I. 1998. Discussion to "Advances in sediment transport processes and fluvial morphology", by G. Parker. Chapter 2 in: Klingeman P.C., R.L. Beschta, P.D. Komar, and J.B. Bradley (Eds.). "Gravel-Bed Rivers in the Environment". Water Resources Publications. Highlands Ranch, CO.

Meier, C.I. 1998. Discussion to "Dynamic roughness, sediment transport and flow structures in a mountain stream", by C. de Jong and P. Ergenzinger. Chapter 4 in: Klingeman P.C., R.L. Beschta, P.D. Komar, and J.B. Bradley (Eds.). "Gravel-Bed Rivers in the Environment". Water Resources Publications, Highlands Ranch, CO.

Meier, C.I. 1993. Probable impacts of Pangue Dam on the natural environment. Pp. 347-83 in: F.Faranda y O.Parra (eds.) "Evaluación Ecológica del Sistema Fluvial del Río Biobío". Monografía Científica EULA, Vol. 12, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile (in Spanish).

Peer-Reviewed Conference Proceedings:

Burboa*, A., and C.I. Meier. 2016. "Pluvioreader: An automatic software for digitizing pluviograms." Accepted for presentation at IAHR 27^th Latin American Hydraulics Congress, Lima, Peru, September 2016. 11 pp.

Meier, C.I., J.S. Moraga*, and P. Molnár. 2015. "Underestimation of DDF values obtained from paper pluviograms". In Molnár, P. & Peleg, N. (Eds.), Rainfall in urban and natural systems. Proceedings of the 10^th International Workshop on Precipitation in Urban Areas (UrbanRain15), Pontresina, 1-5 December 2015. ETH-Zürich, Institute of Environmental Engineering,doi:10.3929/ethz-a-010549004

Meier, C.I., J.S. Moraga*, and P. Molnár. 2015. "Large negative biases in design rainfall caused by temporal aggregation of precipitation data and by extracting maxima from a subset of all storms". IAHR 36^th World Congress, the Hague, Netherlands. June 2015. 6 pp.

Meier, C.I., G. Pranzini*, J.S. Moraga^#, and P. Molnár. 2015. "Derived distribution of annual precipitation: efects of record length and rainfall data aggregation". IAHR 36^th World Congress, the Hague, Netherlands. June 2015. 5 pp.

Meier, C.I., R. Cisternas*, A. Oñat*, and B. Reid. 2014. "Spatio-temporal behavior of the phreatic and piezometric levels in a medial, unit, gravel bar, during a flood". 10^th International Symposium on Ecohydraulics, Trondheim, Norway. 4 pp.

Link, O., C.I. Meier, and B. Ettmer. 2013. "A physical model for managing sedimentation in the Las Juntas reservoir". XXI^st Chilean Congress of Hydraulic Engineering, Concepción, Chile. 10 pp. (in Spanish)

Soto*, X., and C.I. Meier. 2013. "Underestimation of IDF values in Concepción: 1. Analysis and comparison". XXI^st Chilean Congress of Hydraulic Engineering, Concepción, Chile. 21 pp. (in Spanish)

Meier, C.I., X. Soto*,M. Cid*, C. González*, and A. Burboa*. 2013. "Underestimation of IDF values in Concepción: 2. Explaining the bias". XXI^st Chilean Congress of Hydraulic Engineering, Concepción, Chile. 16 pp. (in Spanish)

Meier, C.I., R. Cisternas*, and A. Schwarz. 2012. "Spatial behavior of the water table under medial unit bars in a wandering gravel-bed river". 9^th International Symposium on Ecohydraulics, Vienna, Austria. 4 pp.

Meier, C.I., O. Sandoval*, and B. Reid. 2012. "Effects of the invasive plant Lupinus polyphyllus on vertical accretion and nutrient availability in gravel bars". 9th International Symposium on Ecohydraulics, Vienna, Austria. 7 pp.

Proboste*, R., O. Link, and C.I. Meier. 2011. "Error analysis of photo-sieving algorithms". XX^th Chilean Congress of Hydraulic Engineering, Santiago, Chile. 13 pp. (in Spanish)

Meier, C.I. 2011. A new conceptual model for establishment of riparian trees at the bar scale, in gravel-bed rivers. Geophysical Research Abstracts Vol. 13, EGU2011-9328.

Meier, C.I., and J.P. Riquelme*. 2010. "Spatial variability of factors affecting riparian tree establishment at the bar scale". 8^th International Symposium on Ecohydraulics, Seoul, Korea. 8 pp.

Dussaillant, A., G. Benito, W. Buytaert, P. Carling, F. González, O. Link, and C.I. Meier. Repeated Glacial-Lake Outburst Floods in Patagonia: An Increasing Hazard? Geophysical Research Abstracts Vol. 11, EGU2009-1442.

García*, A., and C.I. Meier. 2003. "Preliminary Hydraulic Design of an Artificial Channel Optimised for Spawning and Rearing of Rainbow Trout". XVI^th Chilean Congress of Hydraulic Engineering, Santiago (in Spanish). 11 pp.

Zapata*, R., and C. Meier. 2003. "Variability of Flow Width in Gutters of Roads and Streets". XVI^th Chilean Congress of Hydraulic Engineering, Santiago (in Spanish). 14 pp.

Parra, O., and C.I. Meier. 2003. "The Biobío and Laja Rivers: Fluvial Systems under Strong Human Pressure". Case-study presented at the Third World Water Forum", Kyoto, by the Italian Centre for Fluvial Restoration. 4 pp.

Pranzini*, G., and C.I. Meier. 2001. "Distribution of Annual Precipitation in Concepción as Derived from the Characteristics of the Storm Sequences ". XV^th Chilean Congress of Hydraulic Engineering, Concepción. 12 pp.

Meier, C.I. 1998a. The ecological basis of river restoration: 1. River ecology for hydraulic engineers. Proceedings of the Conference "Engineering Approaches to Ecosystem Restoration", Denver, American Society of Civil Engineers. 6 pp.

Meier, C.I. 1998b. The ecological basis of river restoration: 2. Defining restoration from an ecological perspective. Proceedings of the Conference "Engineering Approaches to Ecosystem Restoration", Denver. American Society of Civil Engineers. 6 pp.

Meier, C.I. 1995. A critical review of the Pangue Dam project EIA (Biobío River, Chile). Proceedings of the 1^st Annual Conference of the Water Resources Engineering. Division, San Antonio, Texas. American Society of Civil Engineers. 6 pp.

Meier, C.I. 1995. Sustainability: A perspective from the South. Proceedings of the 22^nd Annual Conference of the Water Resources Planning and Management Division, Cambridge, Massachusetts. American Society of Civil Engineers. 6 pp.

Meier, C.I. 1994. Modification of environmental conditions downstream of dams and their impacts on aquatic invertebrates. Proceedings 3^as Jornadas de Hidráulica F.J. Domínguez, Concepción. Sociedad Chilena de Ingeniería Hidráulica (in Spanish). 15 pp.

Theses:

Ph.D., Organismal Biology and Ecology (Fluvial Ecology), 2008, University of Montana, Missoula. Thesis: "Cottonwood Establishment in a Gravel-Bed River". Major Professor: Prof. F. Richard Hauer

M.Sc., Civil Engineering (Hydraulic Engineering), 1995, Colorado State University, Fort Collins. Thesis: "Transport Velocities of Single Bed-Load Grains in Hydraulically Smooth Open-Channel Flow". Major Professor: Prof. Pierre Y. Julien

Civil Engineer Diploma (Hydraulic & Environmental Engrg.), 1990, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile. Thesis: "Domestic Wastewater Discharges in the Biobío River Basin". Major Professor: Eng. Alberto Duyvestein

Teaching and Advising

(* indicates course first developed and taught by Dr. Meier)

At the Dept. of Civil Engineering, U. of Memphis:
CIVL 3180 Hydraulics and Hydrology (senior course, 3 h/wk, 42 hours, taught twice)
CIVL 4180/6180 Advanced Hydraulics and Hydrology (senior-masters level, 3 h/wk, 42 hrs, Fall 2017)

Undergraduate courses taught at the Dept. of Civil Engineering, U. de Concepción:
544 555 Introduction to Environmental Science* (2nd to 4th year, 4 h/wk, 68 hours, taught 20+ times)
544 230 Open Channel Flow* (4th year, 5 h/wk, 85 hours, taught three times)
544 557 Environmental Impact of Hydraulic Works* (5th year, 5 h/wk, 68 hours, taught three times)
554 010 Challenges in Civil Engineering (1st year, partly: 4 hours, motivational course in curriculum)
554 033 Hydraulics (4th year, open channel part of the class: 5 h/wk, 45 hours, taught once)
554 046 Hydrology* (4th year, 5 h/wk, 85 hours, taught 20+ times)

Undergraduate/graduate courses taught at the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, U. de Concepción:
999 057 Sustainable Energy Development (5th year, partly: 6 hours)
999 064 Technological & Environmental Issues in the Energy Sector (5th year, partly: 10 hours)
4122023 Energy Management and the Environment (for Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences; 6 hours)

Graduate courses taught at the Dept. of Civil Engineering, U. de Concepción:
4124026 Ecohydraulics and Ecohydrology* (4 h/wk, 68 hours, taught 6 times)
4124029 Fluvial Geomorphology* (4 h/wk, 68 hours, taught three times)
4124015 Advanced Hydrology (partly: 28 hours, 1st to develop/teach that part of course, taught twice)
4124006 Masters Thesis Seminar (partly: 4 hours, teaches oral and written scientific communication)

Civil Engineering Honors Thesis Advisor:
Between 2001 and 2015, I was Advisor for 41 students, and Committee Member for another 68, completing their 9-month Honors Thesis for the professional diploma of Civil Engineer. One student was from U. Austral de Chile, Valdivia, and another from the Technical U. of München, Germany.

Graduate Thesis Advisor: (all in Spanish)
Flores, Esteban. Soil hydrological properties in a basin with tephra deposition. Current student, M.Sc. Program in Hydraulic Engineering, Civil Engineering Department, U. de Concepción (co-advised with Dr. Brian L. Reid, CIEP, Coyhaique)

Burboa, Andrés. Methods for obtaining unbiased DDF values from long records of weekly raincharts, based on a short overlapping period with high-resolution intensity data. Current student, M.Sc. Program in Hydraulic Engineering, Civil Eng. Dept., U. de Concepción (co-advised with Dr. Peter Molnár, Dept. of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, ETH, Zürich)

Oñat, Álvaro. 2016. Medial bars as filtering units in braided gravel-bed rivers: Estimating the downwelling flow and its diel behavior. M.Sc. Program in Hydraulic Engineering, Civil Engineering. Dept., U. de Concepción (co-advised with Dr. Brian L. Reid, CIEP, Coyhaique)

Moraga, Jorge S. 2015. Influence of seasonality on the estimation of rainfall interannual variability using derived distributions. M.Sc. Program in Hydraulic Engineering, Civil Eng. Dept., U. de Concepción (co-advised with Dr. Peter Molnár, Dept. of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, ETH, Zürich)

Olivares, Carlos. 2012. Simulating the coarse surface layer on bars of gravel-bed rivers: Effects on soil moisture and early establishment of riparian vegetation. M.Sc. Thesis in Hydraulic Eng, Civil Eng. Dept., U. de Concepción

Graduate Thesis Committee Member:
Five students in the M.Sc. Program in Hydraulic Engineering, Universidad de Concepcion (2010-2013)
Daniel Zamorano M.Sc. Biology, Universidad de Chile, Santiago (2014-2016)

Short Courses and Continuing Education:
From 2008 to 2013, Dr. Meier was director of the "Continuing Education Diploma in Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering" (DIHA), offered by the CE Dept. at U. de Concepción. Since 2008, he has taught the following short courses (pre- or post-conference and seminars) and continuing education courses, within the DIHA and/or for public agencies and utilities: "Advances in Setting Ecological Flows and their Applicability in Chile" (2 h), "Environmentally Friendly River Engineering" 2013 (3 h), "How to Use HEC-RAS in River Modelling" (20 h, with M. Teal, WEST Consultants), "Sediment Transport Analysis Using HEC-RAS" (25 h, with M. Teal and C. Goodell, WEST Consultants), "Modelling River Morphodynamics" (40 h course; co-taught 6 h; with J. Nelson & R. McDonald, USGS, and Y. Shimizu, U. of Hokkaido), "Hydropower Impacts on the Physical Environment" (organized 40 h course and taught 24 h; instructors included Prof. P. Goodwin, U. of Idaho), "Environmentally Friendly River Engineering" (25 h), "Fluvial Geomorphology and Ecohydraulics" (25 h), "Measurement Techniques in River Hydraulics" (12 h, twice), "Notions of Hydrology and Hydraulics" (25 h), "Flood Hydrology" (20 h, thrice), "River Geomorphology" (20 h, twice), "Sport Fisheries Management" (2 h), "Hydrology for Road Design" (20 h), "Ecohydraulics & Ecohydrology" (20 h), "Hydrology & Hydraulics for Powerplant Operators" (20 h), "Theory and Practice of Flow Profiles (20 h, thrice), "Ecohydraulics and Ecohydrology" (25 h), "Impacts of Hydropower Plants on the Aquatic System" (20 h), "Hydrology in Highway Engineering" (20 h), "Design of Small Hydropower Plants" (4 h), "Ecology and Landscape" (6 h).

Projects and Contracts

Principal Investigator:
"Spatial variability in medial, unit bars of sand-bed rivers", Faculty Research Grants, University of Memphis, 2016, $6000.
"Analysis of mitigation measures for the effects of diel flow variations due to peaking generation", Chilean Ministry of Energy, 2015, US$50.800.
"International sustainability standards for hydropower: Feasibility of implementing them in Chile", Chilean Ministry of Energy, grant 584105-7-LE15, 2015, US$32.500.
"Underestimation of extreme rainfall over short durations: Quantifying plausible hypotheses and a preliminary methodological proposal", Idea - FONDEF Applied Science Grant CA13I10190, Conicyt, 2014. US$242,000.
"Taking the Pulse of Chilean Rivers: Enhancing Educational and Academic Opportunities in a Time of Rapid Change". PAI Human Capital Conicyt – Fulbright 881300002 grant, in order to bring Prof. Benjamin Crosby, Idaho State U., for a one-year long sabbatical to U. de Concepción. 2013. US$ 31,200.
"Hydrological and Sediment Study – Chaica River", for Energías Renovables de Chile, 2013. US$28,400.
"Hydrological Study, Upper Lontué Basin", for Ingenium Civil SRL, Barcelona, Spain. 2012. US$60,400.
"Installing a Gauging Station in the Cautín River", for Ingenium Civil SRL, Barcelona, Spain. 2012, US$10,700.
"Selection and Installation of Mountain Weather Stations in the Duqueco Basin", for Duke Energy, 2012, US$19,400.
"Physical Model for Sediment Management in the Las Juntas Reservoir", for ENERPLUS, 2010. US$148,200.
"Surface-Hyporheic Water Interactions and Riparian Tree Establishment in the Paloma River Floodplain, Chilean Patagonia", Fondecyt grant 11080163, CONICYT, Chile, January 2009. US$175,000.
"Analysis of Baseline Studies for the Environmental Assessment of Hydropower Projects in the Aysén Region." Conservation Dept., General Water Directorate, Ministry of Public Works, 2008. US$118,000.
"Interhemispheric Comparison of Physical Factors Explaining Early Establishment Success of Riparian Trees on Bars of Wandering Gravel-Bed Rivers", Research Directorate, U. de Concepción, 2006, US$9200.
"Modelling rainfall-runoff and erosion processes in an agricultural and forestry catchment in the VIIIth Region of Chile". Research Directorate, U. de Concepción, DIUC 203.91.39-1, 2003, US$ 6700.
"Enhancing the Sport Fishery in Waters of the Paloma River Basin", Fontec 199-2045, CORFO, 2003, US$ 65,000.

Co-Investigator:
"EarthShape: Earth Surface Shaping by Biota", DFG-SPP Program 1803, Scientific Partner (PIs: Prof. Dr. Todd Ehlers, U. Tübingen; Prof. Dr. Friedhelm von Blanckenburg, GFZ Potsdam)
"Biological and fisheries study of the chinook salmon population in the Toltén River Basin", Fondo de Investigación Pesquera (Fisheries Research Fund) FIP 2014-87, Fishing Subsecretary, Chile, 2014. US$151,000, Co-Investigator (PI: Dr. Daniel Gómez Uchida, Zoology Dept., U. of Concepción).
"Analysis of Catastrophic Floods integrating Sensor Networks, Remote Sensing and Numerical Modelling Tools, using Repeated Outburst Floods in Patagonia as a Test Case". U. of Greenwich RAE fund 2010-3, £ 38,000. Co-Investigator (PI: Dr. Alejandro Dussaillant, Civil Engineering Dept., U. of Greenwich, UK)
"Hydropower Technical & Environmental Sustainability "– international collaboration on palaeohydrological tools (for extending records and better design), and sediment budget studies (for extending reservoir life and diminishing environmental impacts downstream). World Bank & Chilean PBCT-Conicyt AC-70, 2008-9. US$ 44,000. Co-Investigator (PI: Dr. Alejandro Dussaillant, Civil Engineering Dept., U. of Greenwich, UK)

Languages

Mother tongues: French and Spanish
Fluent: English and Italian
Basic level: German

Keynote and Invited Conference Presentations

"Sustainable Hydropower for Latin America", Keynote presentation, 1st Ecohydrology Conference for Latin America, Santiago, Chile, November 2013.
"The Importance of Fluvial Geomorphology for River Engineering". Keynote presentation, with Dr. Benjamin Crosby (Idaho State U.), XXIst Chilean Conference on Hydraulic Engineering, Concepción. October 2013.
"Interbasin water-transfer megaprojects: Impacts on the dewatered rivers". Invited presentation, Symposium on Water-Transfer and Energy Megaprojects in Chile. Xth Conference of the Chilean Limnological Society, Concepción. 2013
"How do riparian poplars and willows really establish along gravel-bed rivers?" Keynote presentation at the 9th International Symposium on Ecohydraulics, Vienna, Austria. September 2012.
"Sustainable Hydropower for Chile". Keynote presentation, 8th Conference of the Chilean Limnological Society, Valdivia, 2011.
"Critical scientific unknowns in Ecohydraulics. Putting the 'eco' back into Ecohydraulics" Invited presentation at the Workshop on "Research Management in the Eco-Environment". 8th International Symposium on Ecohydraulics, Seoul, Korea. 2010.
"Establishment of Riparian Trees in a Gravel-Bed River". Keynote presentation at the 6th Conference of the Chilean Limnological Society, Coyhaique. October 2009.
"Hydropower Development and the Future of Patagonia: The Scientific Perspective". Invited plenary presentation, 7th International Symposium on Ecohydraulics, Concepcion, Chile, January 2009.
"Proposals for Sport Fishing Regulations in Chile". Keynote presentation at the 12th Workshop of the Chilean Limnological Society, Concepción. 2003.

Invitations as an Expert

"Sustainable Hydropower Development", International Panel "Exploring the Future of Energy, Climate Change, and Development", Ministry of Energy and MAPS-Chile, Santiago, April 2015
"Green River Project International Seminar", Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and BuildingTechnology, Ilsan, Korea, October 2014
"MAPS Chile Project: Mitigation Options to Confront Climate Change", Invited Expert in the "Electricity Technical Working Group" and in the "Scenario Building Group". Ministry of the Environment, Chile. 2012-2013 (56 hours)
"Manual of Hydromorphological Alterations in Rivers and Lakes", Invited Expert, Ministry of the Environment & Universidad de Chile, 2012 (32 hours)
"Sustainable Hydropower for Chile", Chilean Government Advisory Commission on Electric Development (CADE), Ministry of Energy, Aug. 2011
"Hydropower Sustainability in Chile: Can We Learn from Past Mistakes?" NSF-PASI (National Science Foundation-Pan American Advanced Science Institute) Workshop "Human, Physical, and Natural Capital Investment in Patagonia: a Predictive Approach Under the Sustainability Criterion", Concepción, 2008.
Member of the Expert Group for policy paper "Environmental Aspects of Integrated Flood Management", Associated Programme on Flood Management, World Meteorological Org. and Global Water Partnership, Geneva, Switzerland, 2006.
Member of the Panel discussing the Recreational Fishing Law in the Fishing Subsecretary and Congress, Chile, 2002-2003

Awards and Honors

2012: Keynote speaker at the 9th International Symposium on Ecohydraulics, Vienna, Austria
2009-2010: Teaching Merit Award, Faculty of Engineering, Universidad de Concepción
2006-2007: Teaching Merit Award, Faculty of Engineering, Universidad de Concepción
2007: Montana NSF-EPSCOR PhD Fellowship
1993-1995: Fulbright Scholarship and Encyclopaedia Britannica grant for MSc studies at Colorado State U.
1989-1991: Scholarship from the Italian Government for graduate studies in Environmental Sciences at Universidad de Concepción
1990: "Universidad de Concepción" prize, first in his Civil Engineering class
Presidential scholar through the duration of his high-school and undergraduate university studies.