Biography

I have been Full Professor in Hydraulic Engineering since 2016 at UCO, where I have been developing research lines on hydrological processes and water quality in Mediterranean basins since 1999, with a scientific approach to process understanding based on advanced frameworks of multi-source data (ground and remote sensing) and physically-based modelling. In 2009, I founded the Research Group Fluvial Dynamics and Hydrology (TEP248-PAIDI) up to a core group of my former PhD students, based on a first set of thesis works dealing with high mountain hydrology in Mediterranean basins, a novel research line at UCO. Ever since, our pioneering work on the dynamics of snowpacks in Sierra Nevada (Spain) and links to the hydrological signature of its head basins has evolved in a series of relevant impact research papers in highly ranked journals, and key international collaborations and projection, being recognized at the moment as one of the reference international groups on Mediterranean mountain hydrology. My track record of publications (87 indexed works, H21, Scopus) evidences my interdisciplinary vision to address science questions and societal challenges, merging hydrology, engineering, and ecology to design advanced process-oriented monitoring networks, modelling, and experimental work, that bridge the gap between scientific standards and user-friendly tools for stakeholders and technicians. Our contribution to understanding the significance of microscale processes in the distribution of snowpack, the relevance of radiative components in the energy balance, and the role of evaposublimation from the snowpack have meant key scientific impacts on quantifying water resources in Mediterranean snow regions, future scenarios of sustainability of mountain storage, regulation, and provision services, and derived collaborations in the field of ecohydrology, including the use of terrestrial cameras to track the evolution of hydrological processes. These research goals have been successfully funded since 2009 by competitive national and international projects, that I have led, and have opened relevant international collaborations, with an intense presence in reference conferences and networking effort since 2013 as my coauthoring of high-impact works led by top international researchers in this field, my active role in different Working Groups of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences, and the inclusion of our experimental research area in Sierra Nevada as one of the reference basins in Mediterranean regions in INARCH, an international excellence network for alpine catchment research, soundly prove. As result of this research expertise, I have been awarded with the Dooge Medal at the International Hydrology Prize 2022 by the IAHS-UNESCO-WMO.

I was appointed as collaborator of the Spanish Research Agency since 2017, and have also supported other research agencies at the national and international level, including scientific EU programs.

Our research activities have also attracted technology and knowledge transfer demands from both the public and private sectors involved in Integrated River Basin Management, with numerous coordination of research and innovation contracts. With a clear civil service vocation, I early adopted open-access practices, with free distribution of our datasets and models, and focus on societal challenges; the development of the Global Monitoring System-SNOWMED in Sierra Nevada (https://www.uco.es/dfh/snowmed/) is a clear example. This transfer work was awarded by the Social Board at UCO in 2010. I also mentored the creation of the spin-off  “Knowater, S.L” in 2017.

Finally, I am a motivated and vocational professor, with a clear role in teaching (being pioneer of courses in English at my department), supervising students (more than 60 degree and master thesis), and mentoring early career researchers (up to 15 PhD fellows and hosting postdocs), who have progressed further in their scientific career. I led the transition in 2006 from our PhD program to Master, and then Excellence PhD program, with novel scientific goals and professional profiles, and coordinated their development until 2016, with a large fraction of our students in the research and academic sectors today.