Hydroinformatics Chair Group

The Hydroinformatics Chair Group offers possibilities for PhD studies. The Hydroinformatics Chair Group of the UNESCO Institute for Water Education (UNESCO-IHE) is presenting a number of themes that potential PhD students may want to consider as the basis for a PhD study. UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands, is a world-leading education and research institute organising Master of Science and PhD Programmes. Hydroinformatics concerns the integrated use of information and communication technologies, modelling, optimization, control and decision support systems for better management of water-related systems, with involvement of relevant stakeholders. Hydroinformatics originated at IHE-Delft in 1990, being defined and described by Professor Michael B. Abbott (who was also one of the first and main contributors to the field of computational hydraulics). Since then hydroinformatics has grown internationally and acquired wide recognition, with successful conferences, journal and books. From 1997 till 2007 the group was lead by Professor Roland K. Price. The Hydroinformatics Chair Group has steadily grown, with considerable project funding, international visibility, being active in publishing results in peer-reviewed journals, and guiding more than 25 PhD students during the last 10 years. The Chair Group (part of the department of Integrated Water Systems and Governance) organises the Specialisation in Hydroinformatics (part of the Water Science and Engineering Masters programme), participates in the EU-funded Erasmus Mundus Flood Risk Management Masters programme, provides short courses for continuing professional development and is also involved in various research activities related to modelling and information systems for water management. In terms of applications, our special interest currently is in the flood and drought risk management (both in urban and rural environments), including the issues of climatic variability, population growth, land-use change and their impact on socio-economic development. Solving these problems is impossible without modelling, and, more generally, hydroinformatics tools. Main orientation is at developing countries and countries in transition. Currently the Hydroinformatics Chair Group is considering to extend it sPhD Programme. Specifically, our current research activities are oriented towards the following themes (each of which would lead to more specific topics): Theme 1. Advanced methods of simulation modelling under uncertainty. Application areas include rivers, river basins, urban applications, floods in rural and urban areas,

coastal and groundwater resources with the overall objective of better management practices. Special attention will be given to taking into account explicit considerations of risk and uncertainty, especially important in climate change studies. We would like to explore novel approaches and developing new integrative modelling frameworks including multi-model and ensemble modelling, data assimilation, integrating remote sensing and other data sources, meteorological and climate models, hydrological and hydraulic models, GIS-based hazard mapping tools and decision support systems. Set of the modelling tools with which we have experience includes Mike11, Mike 21, Sobek, Delft 3D, InfoWorks, ISIS, MOUSE, SWMM, EPANET, HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, HBV, SWAT, MikeSHE, MODLFOW, various GIS platforms, etc. Theme 2. Research into and development of appropriate data mining (machine learning, soft computing, data-driven modelling) methods and tools, and their application in waterrelated problems. The following technologies gain special attention: artificial neural networks, fuzzy rule-based systems, support vector machines, committee machines (ensemble modelling), uncertainty analysis, non-linear dynamics (chaos theory) etc. Special attention will be given to the integration of data-driven and simulation (process) models (leading to hybrid models). Theme 3. Further development and application of risk-based robust multi-objective optimisation techniques and model-based real-time control methods in solving practical water-related problems. Applications may include reservoir optimisation and control, river basin management, groundwater remediation, urban water networks optimization, control and rehabilitation, model calibration and uncertainty analysis. I optimization methods main interest is to increasing efficiency of randomized adaptive search and genetic and evolutionary methods. Use of data-driven surrogate models replicating complex computationally intensive simulation models in optimization loops, and use of cloud computing for parallelization of complex tasks is also foreseen. Theme 4. Development of collaborative decision support frameworks for communities of practice and networks of stakeholders focussed on particular aspects of water management, such as modelling, forecasting, warning, monitoring, optimization, planning, etc. These frameworks would be model-based, use Internet, mobile telephony and other ICT technologies, and support the best management practices. The Hydroinformatics Chair Group has experience in all of these areas, so that the experiences and techniques can be applied complementary to each other. Staff members have also been involved in a number of practical civil engineering projects where such tools were applied in combination with other computer-based technologies, such as information and knowledge systems, interactive Web portals and GIS. Funding. There are various possibilities for funding PhD studies along these themes. We specially invite PhD candidates from developing countries and countries in transition with the opportunities to fund there studies from their governments or universities. We also regularly acquire research projects where a PhD student can be placed, however such

opportunities are limited. There is also a possibility to apply for funding from the Dutch Fellowship programme (www.nuffic.nl). In case of questions and/or suggestions please contact Professor Dimitri Solomatine at d.solomatine@unesco-ihe.org More information on Hydroinformatics can be found on http://www.unesco-ihe.org/hi.