Headshot of Mazdak Arabi.

Mazdak Arabi

Borland Endowed Professor of Water Resources

Mazdak Arabi is the Borland Endowed Professor of Water Resources in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at Colorado State University (CSU).

He is the creator and current director of the One Water Solutions Institute (OWSI) at CSU. The mission of the institute is to solve real-world water challenges via cutting-edge research and innovation. OWSI coordinates synergistic activities and products of several research consortiums, including: Urban Water Innovation Network (UWIN), CLEAN Nutrient Center, and Water & Climate Center.

Arabi serves as the principal investigator and the director the Urban Water Innovation Network (UWIN), one of the NSF-funded Sustainability Research Networks (SRN). The network, a consortium of academic institutions and key partners across the U.S., includes research, engagement, and educational programs to address challenges that threaten urban water systems. The mission of UWIN is to create technological, institutional, and management solutions to help communities increase the resilience of their water systems and enhance preparedness for responding to water crises. This project develops metrics and rating systems for assessing benefits and co-benefits of One Water strategies, including end-use efficiency, fit-for-purpose use of alternative water sources (including reclaimed water), green infrastructure, sustain urban drainage systems, and coordinated water management and urban planning. See more information about the project.

Arabi is the lead developer of the open-source software called environmental Resource Assessment and Management System (eRAMS). Funded by numerous projects from NSF, USEPA, USDA as well as local and state agencies, eRAMS enables development of computationally scalable and accessible online tools for sustainable management of land, water, and energy resources. eRAMS and its cloud services implantation platform (CSIP) currently host to more than 400 data, analytic, and modeling web services that are used by researchers, U.S. federal government agencies, state, and local governments. Additionally, eRAMS offers platform services for development of scalable and accessible online tools by app developers. A unique strength of the eRAMS technology is the capacity to develop collaborative projects with geospatial and mapping capacities. All eRAMS tools are deployed as web services.

Contact Information

Resources

Academic Areas

Appointments

  • Director, One Water Solutions Institute (OWSI)
  • Director, Urban Water Innovation Network (UWIN)

Research Focus Areas

Arabi’s research, education, and engagement activities focus on the development of scientific approaches and analysis tools that enable integrated water resource management in a changing world. His primary expertise includes hydrologic assessment, watershed modeling, water quality control, and system identification and optimization.

  • Hydrologic / Water Quality Modeling
  • Data Assimilation and System Analysis
  • GIS and Remote Sensing in Watershed Management
  • Nonpoint Source Pollution / Soil and Water Conservation
  • Environmental monitoring

Education

  • B.S. 1998, University of Tehran – Civil Engineering
  • M.S. 2000, University of Tehran – Civil Engineering, Hydraulics
  • Ph.D. 2005, Purdue University – Civil Engineering, Water Resources
  • Postdoctoral Associate, 2005-2007, Purdue University