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Rafael L. Bras
Georgia Tech Professor and former Provost Rafael L. Bras
Born
Rafael Luis Bras

1950 (age 73–74)
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Alma mater
AwardsRobert E. Horton Medal
National Academy of Engineering
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
WebsiteOffice of Provost

Rafael Luis Bras (born 1950) is a Puerto Rican civil engineer best known for his contributions in surface hydrology and hydrometeorology,[1] including his work in soil-vegetation-atmosphere system modeling.[2]

Bras served as the provost and executive vice president of Academic Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology[3] 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.[4][5]

Education

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A native of Puerto Rico, graduated from Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola. Bras studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received a bachelor's (1972), a master's in civil engineering (1974), and a science doctorate in water resources and hydrology (1975).[6]

Career

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On completion of his doctorate, Bras worked for a time as an assistant professor at the University of Puerto Rico school of engineering.[6]

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.[6][7][8]

On April 24, 2008, Bras was appointed as Dean of The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine, effective September 1, 2008.[8]

On July 15, 2010, Bras was named provost of the Georgia Institute of Technology.[9][3] 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.[10] He officially stepped down on October 1, 2020[11] and continues to be a professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.[4]

Research

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As an engineering hydrologist, Bras' major areas of interest include land-atmosphere interactions and geomorphology.[7] With the goal of "coherent understanding of the global water cycle",[12] 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, combining traditional land hydrology with atmospheric science, ecology, geology, and geomorphology.[1]

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.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15]

In his work in ecohydrology, 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.[16][12] 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.[17][18] Bras is considered a leading authority on soil-vegetation-atmosphere system modelling and the evolution of landscapes due to climatic disturbances including global warming.[2][19]

Bras is listed as an ISI highly cited researcher by the Institute for Scientific Information in Ecology/Environment, Engineering.[20] He is a registered professional engineer 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.[16][21]

Honors and awards

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Selected works

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  • Bras, Rafael L.; Rodriguez-Iturbe, Ignacio (1985). Random functions and hydrology. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley. ISBN 9780201058659. Reprinted Dover, 1993.
  • Bras, Rafael L. (1990). Hydrology : an introduction to hydrologic science. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley. ISBN 978-0201059229.
  • Bras, Rafael L., ed. (1993). The World at risk : natural hazards and climate change, Cambridge, MA 1992 (AIP Conference Proceedings 277). New York: American Institute of Physics. ISBN 1563960664.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Enclosure D James R. Killian, Jr., Faculty Achievement Award 2008-2009 Citation for Rafael L. Bras" (PDF). The James R. Killian, Jr., Faculty Achievement Award Selection Committee for 2008-2009. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Dr Rafael L Bras Named Recipient of the 2010 Anthony J Drexel Exceptional Achievement Award". Drexel University. 30 September 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Rafael Bras Named Georgia Tech Provost". Georgia Institute of Technology. 2010-07-07. Retrieved 2011-07-10.
  4. ^ a b "Rafael Bras". GTRI. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Rafael L. Bras to Step Down as Georgia Tech's Provost". Office of the Provost, Georgia Tech. 2020-01-22. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  6. ^ a b c "Former Dean Rafael L. Bras | The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine". Samueli School of Engineering. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Rafael Bras New Chair of the Faculty". MIT Faculty Newsletter. 2002. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  8. ^ a b Brehm, Denise (27 April 2008). "Rafael Bras named dean of UC Irvine School of Engineering". Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Bras named new Provost". Technique. Georgia Tech. July 15, 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  10. ^ Ivy, Susie (January 22, 2020f). "Rafael L. Bras to Step Down as Georgia Tech's Provost | News Center". news.gatech.edu. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  11. ^ "Rafael L. Bras to Step Down as Georgia Tech's Provost". www.news.gatech.edu. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  12. ^ a b "MEET A LEAF: Rafael Bras". AGU Ecohydrology. December 28, 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  13. ^ "Rafael Bras". FEEM Climate Policy Workshops. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  14. ^ Gabrielle, V. (28 March 2019). "The Renaissance of Hydrology". Eos. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  15. ^ Rodríguez-Iturbe, Ignacio; Rinaldo, Andrea (27 August 2001). Fractal River Basins: Chance and Self-Organization. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-00405-3.
  16. ^ a b c d Brehm, Denise (October 17, 2007). "Rafael Bras to receive AGU's Horton Medal". MIT News. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  17. ^ Eltahir, Elfatih A. B.; Bras, Rafael L. (1 August 1996). "Precipitation recycling". Reviews of Geophysics. 34 (3): 367–378. Bibcode:1996RvGeo..34..367E. doi:10.1029/96RG01927. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  18. ^ Eltahir, E. A. B.; Bras, R. L. (July 1994). "Precipitation recycling in the Amazon basin". Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. 120 (518): 861–880. Bibcode:1994QJRMS.120..861E. doi:10.1002/qj.49712051806. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  19. ^ Toon, John (June 7, 2016). "High-Resolution Model Explains Role of Soil Erosion in Carbon Budgets | News Center". Georgia Tech News. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  20. ^ Thomson ISI. "Rafael L. Bras, ISI Highly Cited Researchers". Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  21. ^ "Engineering marvel may save Venice; Parker Lecture is April 23". Vanderbilt University. April 19, 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  22. ^ "EWRI 2017 Awards" (PDF). ASCE. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  23. ^ "HISTORICAL LIST OF DISTINGUISHED AND HONORARY MEMBERS" (PDF). American Society of Civil Engineering. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  24. ^ "In the Zotlight 2009". The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  25. ^ "Simon W. Freese Environmental Engineering Award & Lecture Past Award Winners". ASCE. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  26. ^ "Honorary Diplomates". American Academy of Water Resources Engineers. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  27. ^ "AAAS News and Notes". Science. 310 (5748): 634–637. 28 Oct 2005. doi:10.1126/science.310.5748.634. S2CID 220094341.
  28. ^ a b "Bras, Dr. Rafael". School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  29. ^ "HENAAC Hall of Fame". Great Minds in STEM. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  30. ^ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Committee on a Framework for Analyzing the Needs for Continuity of NASA-Sustained Remote Sensing Observations of the Earth from Space (2015). "Appendix H: Committee and Staff Biographical Information". Continuity of NASA earth observations from space : a value framework. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. ISBN 978-0-309-37743-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  31. ^ "Dr. Rafael L. Bras". National Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  32. ^ Sales, Robert J. (January 26, 2000). "Three slated to receive Leadership Awards at annual MLK breakfast". MIT News. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  33. ^ Brehm, Denise (June 3, 1998). "Bras wins Clarke Prize given for exceptional water research". MIT News. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  34. ^ "Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prizes Past Award Winners". American Society of Civil Engineers. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  35. ^ "Fellows of the AMS". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 75 (8): 1418. 1994.
  36. ^ "James B. Macelwane Medal". American Geophysical Union. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  37. ^ "Rafael L. Bras". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  38. ^ "Hydrologic Sciences Award | AGU". American Geophysical Union. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
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