Dr. Rafael Bras

Biography

Rafael L. Bras is a professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he holds the K. Harrison Brown Family Chair. He served as provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs at Georgia Tech. Before this role, he was a Distinguished Professor and Dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine, and spent 32 years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a professor in the departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. His research focuses on hydrology and ecohydrology, with a broad interest in understanding land-atmosphere interactions, including the use of satellite observations to study Earth surface processes, particularly soil moisture and rainfall. He has made significant contributions to stochastic representation and optimization in hydro-climatic processes, including real-time observational data assimilation and flood-drought forecasting. He has advised numerous institutions and chaired various committees, including those for the National Science Foundation and NASA. His teaching interests include leadership development, and he has created graduate courses focused on eco-hydrology and leadership. He has received numerous awards throughout his career, recognizing his achievements in engineering and education.

Research Interests