Rafael Luis Bras (born 1950) is a Puerto Rican civil engineer best known for his contributions in

surface hydrology A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object or space. It is the portion or region of the object that can first be perceived by an observer using the senses of sight and touch, and is ...

and

hydrometeorology Hydrometeorology is a branch of meteorology and hydrology that studies the transfer of water and energy between the land surface and the lower atmosphere. Hydrologists often use data provided by meteorologists. As an example, a meteorologist might ...

, including his work in soil-vegetation-atmosphere system modeling. Bras served as the provost and executive vice president of Academic Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology from 2010 to 2020 with faculty appointments in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and continues to be a professor at Georgia Tech.

Education

A native of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, graduated from

Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola is a private, Catholic, Jesuit, all-male college-preparatory school run by the U.S. Central and Southern Province of the Society of Jesus in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1952.

. Bras studied at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

, where he received a bachelor's (1972), a master's in civil engineering (1974), and a science doctorate in water resources and hydrology (1975).

Career

On completion of his doctorate, Bras worked for a time as an assistant professor at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

school of engineering. Bras returned to MIT in July 1976, where he served for more than 32 years as a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and held an appointment in the Departments of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. He is a past chair of the MIT faculty, former head of the Civil and Environmental Engineering department, and director of the Ralph M. Parsons Laboratory at MIT. On April 24, 2008, Bras was appointed as Dean of The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and p ...

, effective September 1, 2008. On July 15, 2010, Bras was named provost of the Georgia Institute of Technology. From 2010 to 2020, Bras was a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the Schools of Civil and Environmental Engineering and of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences On January 22, 2020, Bras announced plans to step down as provost and remain a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He officially stepped down on October 1, 2020 and continues to be a professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Research

As an engineering hydrologist, Bras' major areas of interest include land-atmosphere interactions and geomorphology. With the goal of "coherent understanding of the global water cycle", Bras and Peter S. Eagleson at MIT led scientists to rethink the role of water as an essential component of Earth systems. Bras' books ''Random functions and hydrology'' (1985) and ''Hydrology : an introduction to hydrologic science'' (1990) are considered foundational publications in

hydrologic sciences Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is call ...

, combining traditional land hydrology with atmospheric science, ecology, geology, and geomorphology. Bras has integrated probability and statistics into hydrology to improve forecasting and risk estimation. By examining the interactions of precipitation, runoff, and soil moisture, he has improved river-flow forecasting and flood estimation. Remote sensing, satellite data, and information technology can now be used to support distributed hydrologic modeling and the global mapping of water in near to real time. Bras has developed models of the structure and evolution of river basins in terms of their fractal organization and geometry. His work enables researchers to better understand erosional development on hillslopes and channels within catchments. Mass transport processes modelled include fluvial sedimentation, creep, rainsplash and landslides. In his work in

ecohydrology Ecohydrology (from Greek , ''oikos'', "house(hold)"; , ''hydōr'', "water"; and , '' -logia'') is an interdisciplinary scientific field studying the interactions between water and ecological systems. It is considered a sub discipline of hydrology, ...

, Bras tries to integrate information about the hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. He seeks to quantify the ways in which plants affect and are affected by hydrologic and energy cycles in the environment. With Elfatih Eltahir he examined the role of precipitation recycling on the atmospheric branch of the water cycle of the Amazon River basin, and showed that deforestation can have serious impacts on climate. Bras is considered a leading authority on soil-vegetation-atmosphere system modelling and the evolution of landscapes due to climatic disturbances including

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. Bras is listed as an

ISI highly cited researcher The Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) was an academic publishing service, founded by Eugene Garfield in Philadelphia in 1956. ISI offered scientometric and bibliographic database services. Its specialty was citation indexing and analysis, ...

by the

Institute for Scientific Information The Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) was an academic publishing service, founded by Eugene Garfield in Philadelphia in 1956. ISI offered scientometric and bibliographic database services. Its specialty was citation indexing and analysi ...

in Ecology/Environment, Engineering. He is a registered

professional engineer Regulation and licensure in engineering is established by various jurisdictions of the world to encourage life, public welfare, safety, well-being, then environment and other interests of the general public and to define the licensure process thro ...

in several states. He has served as a professional consultant in multiple projects around the world. Beginning in 1995 Bras chaired an international panel for oversight of a system of barriers for the flood protection of Venice, Italy.

Honors and awards

* 2017, Lifetime Achievement Award, Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) * 2015, Distinguished Member,

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

*2011, Corresponding Member, National Academy of Sciences of Mexico (Academia Nacional de Ciencias de México) *2010, Anthony J. Drexel Exceptional Achievement Award, Drexel University *2009, National Academy of Arts and Sciences of Puerto Rico (Academia de Artes y Ciencias de Puerto Rico) *2008, James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award,

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

*2008, Simon W. Freese Environmental Engineering Award and Lecture, ASCE "for advancing the theory and practice of hydrologic sciences, including hydrometeorology and hydroclimatology." *2007, Honorary Diplomate of Water Resources Engineering, American Academy of Water Resources Engineers *2007, Robert E. Horton Medal, AGU *2006, Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science *2004, Corresponding Member, National Academy of Engineering, Mexico *2003, Hall of Fame (HHF), Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Conference (HENAAC) *2002,

NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal NASA's Exceptional Public Service Medal is a United States government awarded to any non-Government individual or to an individual who was not a Government employee during the period in which the service was performed for sustained performance th ...

*2001,

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

, "For innovation in hydrological forecasting and hydrometeorology through application of new technology, probability, and statistics, and for the advancement of civil engineering education." *2001, Giants in Science Award of the Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) Mathematics, Science and Engineering Network *2000, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award,

*1998, Clarke Prize Laureate for Outstanding Achievement in Water Science and Technology, National Water Research Institute (NWRI) *1994, Member,

(ASCE) *1993, Walter Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize, ASCE *1992, Fellow,

American Meteorological Society The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is the premier scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. Its mission is to advance th ...

*1992, Honoris Causa Laurea, Instituto di Idraulica Agraria, Universita Degli Studi di Perugia,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

*1982, James B. Macelwane Medal, American Geophysical Union *1982, Fellow,

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's a ...

*1982, John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship *1981, Hydrologic Sciences Award,

Selected works

* Reprinte
Dover, 1993
* *

References