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Steven Gorelick

Cyrus Fisher Tolman Professor and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment

Current Research and Scholarly Interests. Research : .

As a hydrologist, my research involves the study of water resources and water security with emphasis on freshwater. I direct the Global Freshwater Initiative, which studies water resources vulnerability problems throughout the world. We investigate the impacts of droughts on water-stressed regions by developing coupled human-natural systems models that explore the effects of climate, land-use, and demographic changes on urban and agricultural regions. We have produced useful tools to aid in sustainable agricultural and urban water management in the western US, Mexico, India, Jordan, and Vietnam. Although driven by observations, our conceptual and quantitative models lead us to rigorous understanding of physical processes, enable us to make predictions, and explore new water management policies, involving taxes, quotas, subsidies, water rights, and water markets. Such models have provided means to better quantify the influence of droughts and floods, particularly on vulnerable communities and then importantly to identify equitable water management strategies. .

. - Teaching :

. I teach courses for graduate and undergraduate students involving principles and methods used in physical and contaminant hydrogeology. In addition, I run a seminar series that exposes students to a variety of multidisciplinary topics involving hydrology and water resources. .

: - Professional Activities :

. 2021-2022 von Humboldt Fellow-Germany, 2022-23 Fulbright Fellow - Distinguished Chair in Science, Technology and Innovation, Australian-American Program, 2016 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2014 Best Paper in Environmental Research Letters in 2014 (Padowski and Gorelick, (2014), 2013 Editor's Choice Award, Water Resources Research for paper Srinivasan et al., (2012), Member, US National Academy of Engineering (2012), International Fellow, Institute for Environmental Science and Research (ESR) (2011), New Zealand, Fulbright Senior Scholar (2008-09); Chester C. Keisel Memorial Lecturer, University of Arizona (2008); Best Paper Award in Computers and Geosciences, International Association for Mathematical Geology (2006); fellow, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (2005); Stanford representative to the Consortium of Universities for Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences (2005-2008); M. King Hubbert Science Award, NGWA (2004); Ineson Distinguished Lecturer (1998); Fulbright Senior Scholar (1997); O.E. Meinzer Award, GSA (1994) James B. Macelwane medal, AGU (1990); Fellow, GSA (1988) and AGU (1990); Editorial Board, Optimization and Engineering Journal (1990-present); visiting professor, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Ecological Engineering Laboratory (2006); visiting professor, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, jointly at the Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology (2005); visiting scholar, University of Cambridge, Zoology (2007); visiting scientist, CSIRO, Perth, Australia (2009); Member AGU Water and Society Technical Committee (2011-present) visiting professor, University of Western Australia Centre for Ecohydrology (2012); visiting professor, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich (2013, 2019)

Contact Info
- 450 JANE STANFORD WAY, BLDG. 320
- Braun Hall
- 450 Serra Mall
- STANFORD, California 94305
Mail Code: 2115
- (650) 725-2950 (office)
GORELICK@stanford.edu