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About me

I am a postdoctoral research scientist in Dr. Gil Bohrer’s lab with background in water resources and numerical modeling, optimization algorithms, and machine learning methods. My current research focuses on eco-hydrology and land surface modeling.

I formulated, developed, and verified a tree-scale hydrodynamics model of whole-plant transpiration called Finite-difference Ecosystem-scale Tree-Crown Hydrodynamics model (FETCH2). The FETCH2 model uses atmospheric forcing from the land-surface models, employs a finite difference numerical methodology to simulate water flow through the tree as a continuum of porous media conduits, and calculates realistic hydraulic restrictions to stomatal aperture. It explicitly resolves xylem water potential throughout the tree’s vertical extent (from root to shoot) through a multi-layer canopy.

This approach brings additional realism to the simulation of transpiration by linking stomatal responses to stem water potential rather than directly to soil moisture, as is currently the case in the majority of land-surface models. FETCH2 provides an exciting new possibility to define and study plant traits and hydrodynamics and enhances our ability to simulate and predict ecosystem response to drought and other changes associated with climate or canopy structure.

Research Capabilities

  • Optimization algorithms (genetic algorithm, particle swarm, MCMC-Metropolis)
  • Evolutionary computing
  • Numerical modeling (finite difference, finite element, finite volume)
  • Machine learning (ANN, SVM, RBF, PCA, ICA)
  • Computational fluid mechanics
  • Hydrological and atmospheric modeling
  • Data assimilation and Bayesian algorithms
  • Remote sensing