ProfessorWouter Buytaert

Wouter Buytaert works at the interface between hydrological process understanding, water resources management, and global development. He focuses in particular on studying the impact of environmental change on the terrestrial water cycle, and its consequences for managing water resources and flood and drought risk. He applies and develops advanced methods for data collection, computer simulation, and knowledge transfer to support environmental decision making and development policies. He is working extensively in the Global South, with a particular interest in mountain regions such as the Andes and the Himalayas.

His manages a large and diverse portfolio of research projects funded by public and private sources including the UKRI research councils and the European Commission. Examples of recent projects foci include climate change adaptation in glacierized river basins (RAHU, Deplete), community-based flood resilience (LandslideEVO), smart sensor networks for water quality monitoring (SMARTWATER), and urban water management for public health (CLARITY).

Wouter is also an editor of the EGU journal Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, and Specialty Chief Editor of Frontiers in Earth Science. He receives frequent invitations to speak in international conferences and meetings, both in an academic and a policy context, and works extensively with policy makers such as the UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrology Programme. In 2022, he received the Darcy medal of the European Geosciences Union for his outstanding scientific contributions to water resources research and water resources engineering and management.

Wouter graduated with a combined Meng/MSc in Environmental Engineering from the University of Leuven, Belgium in 2000 and obtained a PhD from the same university in 2004. He joined Imperial in 2009 after positions at Lancaster University and the University of Bristol.

More information on research projects can be found on the group website.