Murugesu Sivapalan
editMurugesu Sivapalan is a hydrologist internationally recognized in the field of catchment hydrology. He is known for his research on water resource, hydrological model, and hydrologic predictions in changing environments, leadership of initiatives in ungauged basins and pioneering in socio-hydrology.[1][2] He is currently Chester and Helen Siess Endowed Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering, and professor in Geography & Geographic Information Science at the University of Illinois.[3][4]
Early life
editSivapalan was born on April 19, 1953 as a Sri Lankan Tamil.[5] He was the son of Sangarapillai Murugesu and Umadevy from Karaveddy in northern Ceylon.[6] He is married to Banumathy.[7] They have two sons: Mayuran and Kavin.[7]
Education
editSivapalan was educated at Hartley College.[8] After school he joined the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya, graduating from its successor, the University of Sri Lanka Peradeniya campus in 1975 with a B.Sc. degree in civil engineering.[9] In 1977, he received a M.Eng. in water resources engineering from the Asian Institute of Technologyin 1977.[9] Later, Sivapalan got a M.A. (1983) and Ph.D. (1986) in civil engineering, with a major in hydrology from Princeton University.[3][9] In 2012, Sivapalan was conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Delft University of Technology.[10]
Career path
editMurugesu Sivapalan | |
---|---|
File:Murugesu sivapalan | |
Born | April 19, 1953 Sri Lankan |
Citizenship | Australian |
Alma mater | Delft University of Technology
Princeton University Asian Institute of Technology University of Ceylon |
Occupation | Academic |
Known for | Prediction in ungauged basin; Socio-hydrology; Water modeling |
Title | Professor |
Spouse | Banumathy |
Children | Mayuran and Kavin |
Awards | Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (Creativity Prize) (2018)
Alfred Wegener Medal and Honorary Membership: European Geosciences Union (EGU) (2017) Robert E. Horton Medal: American Geophysical Union (2011) |
Sivapalan worked briefly at the faculty of Engineering, University of Sri Lanka Peradeniya campus as an instructor in civil engineering in 1975. He was graduate studentand research associate at the division of Water Resources Engineering in Asian Institute of Technology between 1975 and 1977. He then worked as a consulting civil engineer for rocks & stones in Ibadan, Nigeria between 1978 and 1981. He was a research associate at Princeton University's department of Civil Engineering and operations research between 1986 and 1988.
From 1988 to 2005, Sivapalan worked at department of Environmental Engineering at the University of Western Australia, initially as a lecturer (1988) before being promoted to senior lecturer (1992), associate professor (1995) and professor (1999).[11]
Sivapalan joined the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 2005, teaching undergraduate and post-graduate courses in watershed hydrology, engineering hydrology, stochastic hydrology and water resources engineering. He became Chester and Helen Siess Endowed Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois in April 2015.
He was visiting professor at Vienna Technical University, Delft Technical University, University of Technology, Sydney and Tsinghua University. In 2007 Sivapalan was the Borland Lecturer at the AGU Hydrology Days at Colorado State University.
Research
editSivapalan's research can be divided into four distinct themes.
On hydrological modelling
editSivapalan was devoted to fundamental research on scale problems in hydrologic modelling from 1987 to 1995.
On hydrologic similarity
editOn the representative elementary area
editOn predictions in ungauged basins (PUB)
editSivapalan's research has focused on making predictions in ungauged basins, increasingly in the context of human-induced environmental changes. A basic aim of his research has been to understand observed space-time variability of rainfall-runoff processes at a wide range of scales, including their extremes, and to interpret these in terms of underlying climate-soil-vegetation-topography interactions. Increased focus on hydrologic change has led him to launch the new sub-field of socio-hydrology that aims to explore the dynamic feedbacks between social and hydrological systems lying at the heart of the many critically important water management challenges. Dr. Sivapalan is especially keen towards ensuring that advances in predictions based on socio-hydrologic understanding are used to address acute water management challenges in developing countries where resources are scarce and social and environmental vulnerabilities are intertwined. He has led major efforts towards developing an international network of scientists to address critical water management challenges in the emergent Anthropocene.
Professional service and membership
editSivapalan was founding chair of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences' Decade on Predictions in Ungauged Basins initiative (PUB).
He has served on the editorial boards of several international journals and was executive editor of the European Geophysical Union's Hydrology and Earth System Sciences journal.
- Member, Editorial Board: Hydrological Processes (John Wiley & Sons), 1996–2004
- Associate Editor: Journal of Hydrology (Elsevier Science), 1996–2004
- Member, Editorial Board: Environmental Modelling & Software (Elsevier Science), 2000–2006
- Member, Editorial Board: Nordic Hydrology, 2004–2007
- Associate Editor: Water Resources Research (American Geophysical Union), 2006-2008
- Member, Editorial Board: Advances in Water Resources (Elsevier Science), 2001–2009
- Section Editor (Hydrology and Water Resources), Geography Compass (Blackwell Publishers), 2006-2009
- Member, Editorial Board: Hydrological Sciences Journal (IAHS), 2004–2009
- Member, Editorial Board (Hydrology & Water Resources): Geography Compass (Wiley-Blackwell), 2009–2012
- Associate Editor: Encyclopaedia of Hydrological Sciences (John Wiley & Sons), 2001–present
- Member, Editorial Board: Ecohydrology (John Wiley & Sons), 2008-2020
- Executive Editor, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (European Geosciences Union), 2004-2012
Awards and recognition
editAwards
edit- Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (Creativity Prize) (2018)
- Alfred Wegener Medal and Honorary Membership: European Geosciences Union (EGU) (2017)
- Doctor Honoris Causa (Honorary Doctorate): Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands (2012)
- Robert E. Horton Medal: American Geophysical Union (2011)
- Hydrological Sciences Award (HSA): American Geophysical Union (AGU) (2010)
- International Hydrology Prize (IHP): International Association of Hydrologic Sciences (IAHS) (2010)
- Centenary Medal: Commonwealth Government of Australia (2003)
- John Dalton Medal: European Geosciences Union (2003)
- Fellow: American Geophysical Union (AGU) (2003)
- Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (2001)
- Life Member, The International Water Academy, Oslo, Norway (2001)
Research honors
edit- Sigma Xi, Scientific Research Honor Society (2020-)
- Honorary Professor, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China (2020-2022)
- Satish Dhawan Visiting Chair Professor, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (2019-2020)
- 2018 Water Resources Research Editor's Citation for Excellence in Reviewing (2019)
- 2017 Water Resources Research Editor's Choice Award (Apurv et al.), American Geophysical Union (2018)
- 2015 Water Resources Research Editor's Choice Award (Elshafei et al.), American Geophysical Union (2016)
- Distinguished Visiting Professor, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China (2017-2019)
- CAS President’s International Visiting Fellow, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) (2015)
- International Visiting Research Scholar: Peter Wall Institute, University of British Columbia (2015)
- Distinguished Alumni Award (Academic & Research Excellence), Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand) Alumni Association (2011)
- Borland Lecturer: AGU Hydrology Days, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado (2007)
- Fellow: Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand (MSSANZ) (2001)
- Biennial Medal (Natural Systems): Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand (2001)
Publications
edit- Blöschl, G., M. Sivapalan, T. Wagener, A. Viglione and H. H. G. Savenije. RUNOFF PREDICTIONS IN UNGAUGED BASINS: A SYNTHESIS ACROSS PROCESSES, PLACES AND SCALES. Cambridge University Press, 500p., April 2013
- Sivapalan, M., T. Wagener, S. Uhlenbrook, E. Zehe, V. Lakshmi, X. Liang, Y. Tachikawa, and P. Kumar, PREDICTIONS IN UNGAUGED BASINS (PUB): PROMISE AND PROGRESS. Proceedings of the PUB Symposium, IAHS Scientific Congress, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil. IAHS Publication No. 301, IAHS Press, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, U.K., 520p. 2006.
- Franks, S. W., M. Sivapalan, K. Takeuchi and Y. Tachikawa, PREDICTIONS IN UNGAUGED BASINS: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON STATE-OF-THE-ART AND PATHWAYS FORWARD, Proceedings of the Australia-Japan Workshop on PUB Working Groups, IAHS Publication No. 301, IAHS Press, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, U.K. December 2005.
- Kalma, J. D. and M. Sivapalan, SCALE ISSUES IN HYDROLOGICAL MODELLING. John Wiley & Sons Inc., London, U. K., 489p.1995.
References
edit- ^ "PSIPW Announces Winners for 8th Award at UNISPACE+50 - PSIPW". www.psipw.org. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ "Murugesu Sivapalan". European Geosciences Union (EGU). Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ a b "Civil and Environmental Engineering". cee.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ "Murugesu Sivapalan | Geography and Geographic Information Science at Illinois". ggis.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ "M.Sivapalan". iahs.info. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ "Mrs. Umadevy Murugesu Passes Away". www.hartleycollege.com. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ a b "M.Sivapalan". iahs.info. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ "More Info about: Murugesu Sivapalan". www.hartleycollege.com. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ a b c "Murugesu Sivapalan". European Geosciences Union (EGU). Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ "Sivapalan | Space4Water Portal". www.space4water.org. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ "Murugesu Sivapalan". web.archive.org. 2004-12-21. Retrieved 2020-09-03.