- 1064 Cyber Hall
- Phone (205) 348-0180
- Fax (205) 348-0783
- Faculty Website
Dr. Mukesh Kumar
Professor
Contact
- 1064 Cyber Hall
- phone (205) 348-0180
- fax (205) 348-0783
- Faculty Website
Research Areas
Education
Ph.D, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 2009
B.Tech, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, 2002
Mukesh Kumar is Professor of Hydrology and Water Resources at the University of Alabama. He studies hydrologic processes and ways to assess risks to property, plants, and people from extremes. To this end, his research cuts across the traditional silos in the field of hydrology, and focuses on responses created by interactions between the different components of the hydrologic continuum i.e., subsurface, surface, snow, atmosphere, plants, and humans.
He is co-developer of several open-source frameworks including PIHM (Pennstate Integrated Hydrologic Model), PIHMgis, FIHM, FoRM (Forest Radiation Model), BPT (Barrier Prioritization Tool), SPAC (Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum Model) and DEWS (Detection of Early Warning Signal). Mukesh has personally directed more than $4.5M of funded research, published more than 79 peer-reviewed research papers and delivered >35 invited talks.
His research recognitions include NSF CAREER Award, UCOWR Ph.D. Dissertation Award (2nd Prize), Outstanding Student Paper Award at AGU, UA College of Engineering’s Research Excellence & Innovation Award (2024), Fellow of the Alabama Water Institute (2023), UA CCEE’s Outstanding Faculty Research and Innovation Award (2023), and two UA-CCEE’s Outstanding Mid-Career Faculty Award (2021, 2019). In recognition of his outstanding contributions, he received the Mahatma Gandhi Non-resident Indian Award in 2018.
Mukesh completed his B.Tech from IIT Kanpur in 2002 and Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University in 2009. Before joining the faculty of the University of Alabama, he was an Assistant Professor at Duke University.
Affiliated Areas
Center for Water Quality Research, Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
Selected Publications
- P. Raghav, M. Kumar, and Y. Liu, Structural constraints in current stomatal conductance models preclude accurate prediction of evapotranspiration, Water Resources Research, 2024.
- K. Salvi and M. Kumar, Imprint of urbanization on snow precipitation over the continental USA, Nature Communications, 2024.
- Y. Liu, M. Kumar, G. Katul, X. Feng, and A. Konings, Plant hydraulics accentuates the effect of atmospheric moisture stress on transpiration, Nature Climate Change, 2020.
- Y. Liu, M. Kumar, G. Katul, and A. Porporato, Reduced resilience as an early warning signal of forest mortality, Nature Climate Change, 2019.
- Y. Liu, A. Parolari, M. Kumar, C.W. Huang, G. Katul, and A. Porporato, Increasing atmospheric humidity and CO2 concentration alleviate forest mortality risk, Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, 2017
Awards and Honors
- NSF CAREER Award, National Science Foundation, 2015
- Mahatma Gandhi Pravasai Bhartiya Samman (Non-resident Indian) Award, Non-Resident Indian Welfare Society of India, 2018
- Finalist, Barret Foundation Business Concept Challenge, 2014.
- UCOWR PhD Dissertation Award, Honorable Mention (2nd Prize), 2010.
- CUASHI-CMWR Fellow, 2008.
Dr. Kumar's Impact
UA To Train Needed Workforce for Water Operations and Forecasting
The University of Alabama has been awarded $3 million from the National Science Foundation to establish a unique hydrologic science research and training program for graduate students.
UA-Led Study of Southeastern Groundwater Assists Water Management
The University of Alabama is leading a 4-year, $6 million project to conduct groundwater research that will provide new scientific insights and make useful groundwater water predictions for the Southeast.
Predicting Plant Water Needs in a Warmer, Drier World
UA-involved study shows dry air drives overlooked changes in how plants drink and breathe.