Rajagopalan Balaji

  • Professor
  • HYDROLOGY, WATER RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENTAL FLUID MECHANICS
  • CIVIL SYSTEMS
Address

Office: ECOT 444

Education:

  • B.Tech. in Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, India, 1989
  • M.Tech. in Operations Research and Reliability, Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta, India, 1991
  • Ph.D. in Stochastic Hydrology and Water Resources, Utah State University, Logan, UT, 1995

Honors and Distinctions:

  • Fulbright-Kalam Climate Fellowship, US Department of State, 2023
  • Fellow, American Society of Civil Engineers, 2023
  • Fellow, American Geophysical Union, 2018
  • College Research Award, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 2014
  • Department Service Award, Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 2013
  • Department Distinguished Achievement Award, Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 2010
  • Department of Interior, Partners in conservation award – part of the group that played a role in the adoption of innovative, new operational guidelines for managing the Colorado River in drought years. Award presented to the group by the secretary of Interior in Washington D.C. on May 6, 2009
  • World Meteorological Organization Norbert Gerbier – MUMM International Award for 2009, for the paper entitled “Unraveling the Mystery of Indian Monsoon Failure During El Nino”, published in SCIENCE, Vol. 314, 6 October 2006.
  • Department Research Development Award, Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado, 2006
  • Department Young Researcher Award, Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado, 2003
     

Professional Affiliations:

  • American Geophysical Union
  • American Society of Civil Engineers

Interests:

  • Understanding and modeling space-time variability of hydroclimatology and extremes
  • Bayesian hierarchical and statistical learning methods for climate, hydrology, ecology, water and wastewater quality, ecology, public health, human migration, construction safety risk and others
  • Incorporating climate information in water resources/hydrologic decision making
  • Paleoclimate reconstruction and their signatures on human migration and rise and fall of societies