Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Jorge A. Ramirez has spent his lifetime advancing the field of hydrology – the study of water flows, distribution and interactions within the context of the land, vegetation and atmosphere.
This summer, his colleagues at the American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE) honored that achievement with the 2019 Arid Lands Hydraulic Engineering Award for outstanding teaching and mentoring and research on arid lands hydrology and hydraulics.
“It is worthy of mention that considerable portions of Ramirez’s research in these areas have been developed and applied toward better understanding the variability of water resources in semiarid and arid regions as well as improving the ensuing planning and management systems of water resources systems,” according to an ASCE statement.
Ramirez joined Colorado State University in 1990 as assistant professor after starting his career at the School of Mines of the National University in Medellin, Colombia, and at the Universities Space Research Association at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. His M.S. and Ph.D. from MIT are in hydrology and water resources, and hydrometeorology, respectively.
“Jorge’s expertise has contributed tremendously to the current state of knowledge of hydrologic science and engineering, hydrometeorology and water resources engineering,” said Chuck Shackelford, head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “His research and teaching have extended beyond Colorado to India, Italy, South Korea, Vietnam, Switzerland and his native Colombia.”
For the past 19 years, Ramirez led Hydrology Days at CSU – an internationally recognized conference for students, faculty, staff and practitioners to engage in water-related interdisciplinary research topics. His many awards include the Oliver P. Pennock Distinguished Service Award (2018), the Faculty Award for Excellence in Service from the Civil Engineering Department (2016), the George T. Abell Research Excellence Award of the College of Engineering (2011) and the Colorado Governor’s Recognition Award for High Impact Research (2011). He was also listed by National Online Engineering Programs in 2016 as one of the Top 20 professors of civil engineering.
With more than 150,000 members, the American Society of Civil Engineers advances civil engineering technology, provides tools for career growth, influences public policy and advocates infrastructure and environmental stewardship.
