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Environmental Engineering

Department of Environmental Engineering

Adnan Rajib

Assistant Professor

Education

  • Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, Purdue University, Indiana, USA, 2017
  • MS in Civil Engineering, BUET, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2010
  • BS in Civil Engineering, BUET, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2008

Research Interests

Hydrology and water quality modeling; flood inundation mapping; remote sensing; hydroinformatics for big data integration; cyber-physical systems in hydro-geoscience.

Research Grants/Projects Awarded

  • PI, CyberTraining for Open Science in Climate, Water, and Environmental Sustainability, National Science Foundation (2023-2025).
  • PI, An Earth Observation-integrated Hydrologic Modeling Framework for Post-wildfire Water Resource Management, NASA (2022-2025).
  • PI, Land Information System Enabling Predictions of Aquatic Health for Comprehensive Water Security Assessment, NASA (2022-2023). 
  • PI, Integrating Earth Observations and Ecosystem Models for Improved Characterization and Conservation of Playa Wetlands, US Department of Agriculture (2023-2025).
  • PI, Evaluating Non-floodplain Wetlands for Flood-Risk Reduction and Nutrient Mediation in the Mississippi River Basin, US Department of Defense (2020-2025). 
  • PI, Making Post-wildfire Hydrologic Change Assessments Efficient by Developing A Web-based Remote Sensing-integrated Hydrologic Modeling Tool, US Department of the Interior – Bureau of Reclamation (2022-2024). 
  • PI, Developing A Robust Modeling Workflow for Flood Hazard Prediction in the Gulf of Mexico watersheds (Phase I), International Consulting Engineers, Corpus Christi, Texas (2021-2023). 
  • Co-PI, ReefCem: Low-Carbon Cementitious Materials for Artificial Reefs, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Small Business Innovation Research (2022-2023).
  • Co-PI, Preparing Future Workforce for Sustainable Environment with Data and Computer- driven STEM Training, Halliburton Foundation (2022-2023). 
  • Co-PI, Resilient Coastal Dune Ecosystems for Erosion and Habitat Protection, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through the Texas General Land Office (2021-2023). 

Professional Experience

  • Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Engineering, Texas A&M University at Kingsville (2019 – present). 
  • Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency (2017–2019). 
  • Graduate Research Assistant and Bilsland Fellow, Lyles School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University (2012–2017). 
  • Student Coordinator, NOAA National Water Center Innovators Program (2016). 
  • Visiting Research Fellow, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, South Dakota State University (2015). 
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, BUET, Dhaka, Bangladesh (2010–2012).

Honors and Awards

  • Fostering Pathways to Success (FP2S) Undergraduate Research Course Redesign Award, through US Department of Education Title V grant, 2021. 
  • National Science Foundation FAIR Cyber Training (FACT) Fellowship for Climate and Water, awarded to Ph.D. student Qianjin Zheng, 2021. 
  • EPA Post-Doctoral Fellowship ($175,000), 2017-2019. 
  • Purdue University Outstanding Graduate Award, Spring 2017. 
  • Purdue University Bilsland Dissertation Fellowship ($22,000), 2016. 
  • Best Paper Award, Association of State Floodplain Managers, 2016. 
  • NOAA National Water Center Innovators Program Scholarship ($15,000), 2016. 
  • Audience Choice Award, Annual Ecological Sciences and Engineering Symposium, Purdue University, 2014 and 2016 (two-time winner). 
  • Gerrit H. Toebes Memorial Award, Lyles School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, 2016. 
  • Jacques W. Delleur Award in hydraulics and hydrology, Purdue University, 2013. 

Sample Publications (*student)

  1. Getirana, A., Biswas, N., Qureshi, A., Rajib, A., Kumar, S., Rahman, M., Biswas, R. “Avert Bangladesh’s looming water crisis through open science and better data”, Nature 2022.
  2. Rajib, A., Kim, I L., Ercan, M., Merwade, V., Zhao, L., Song, C., Lin, K.-H. “Cyber-enabled autocalibration of hydrologic models to support Open Science”. Environmental Modelling & Software 2022.
  3. Rajib, A., Zheng, Q.*, Golden, H., Wu, Q. et al. “The changing face of floodplains in the Mississippi River Basin detected by a 60-year land use change dataset”, Nature Scientific Data 2021.
  4. Golden, H., Lane, C., Rajib, A., Wu, Q. “Improving global flood and drought predictions: integrating non-floodplain wetlands into watershed hydrologic models”, Environmental Research Letters 2021, 16(9).
  5. Evenson, G., Golden, H., Christensen, J., Lane, C., Rajib, A., D'Amico, E. et al. “Wetland restoration yields dynamic nitrate responses across the Upper Mississippi River Basin”, Environmental Research Communications 2021.
  6. Paul, M., Rajib, A., Negahban-Azar, M., Shirmohammadi, A., Srivastava, P. “Improving agricultural water management in data-scarce semi-arid watersheds: Value of integrating remotely sensed leaf area index in hydrological modeling”, Science of the Total Environment 2021.
  7. Tavakoly, A.A., Gutenson, J., Lewis, J., Follum, M., Rajib, A., LaHatte, W.C., Hamilton, C. “Direct integration of numerous dams and reservoirs outflow in continental scale hydrologic modeling”, Water Resources Research 2021, 57(9), e2020WR029544.
  8. Rajib, A., Golden, H., Lane, C., Wu, Q. “Surface depression and wetland water storage improves major river basin hydrologic predictions”, Water Resources Research 2020, 56(7), e2019WR026561.
  9. Rajib, A., Liu, Z., Merwade, V., Tavakoly, A., Follum, M. “Towards a large-scale locally relevant flood inundation modeling framework using SWAT and LISFLOOD-FP”, Journal of Hydrology 2020, 581, 124406.
  10. Rajib, A., Kim, I L., Golden, H., Lane, C., Kumar, S.V. et al. “Watershed modeling with remotely sensed Big Data: MODIS Leaf Area Index improves hydrology and water quality predictions”, Remote Sensing 2020, 12(13), 2148.
  11. Golden, H., Rajib, A., Lane, C., Christensen, J., Mengistu, S., Wu, Q. “Non-floodplain wetlands affect watershed nutrient dynamics: A critical review”, Environmental Science & Technology 2019, 53, 7203-7214.
  12. Rajib, A., Evenson, G., Golden, H., Lane, C. “Hydrologic model predictability improves with spatially explicit calibration using remotely sensed evapotranspiration and biophysical parameters”, Journal of Hydrology 2018, 567, 668-683.
  13. Rajib, A., Merwade, V., Yu, Z. “Rationale and efficacy of assimilating remotely sensed potential evapotranspiration for reduced uncertainty of a hydrologic model”, Water Resources Research 2018, 54, 4615-4637.
  14. Lin, P., Rajib, A., Yang, Z.L., Somos-Valenzuela, M., Merwade, V., Maidment, D. et al. “Spatio-temporal evaluation of simulated evapotranspiration and streamflow over Texas using the WRF-Hydro-RAPID modeling framework”, Journal of the American Water Resources Association 2018, 54 (1), 40-54.
  15. Du, L., Rajib, A., Merwade, V. “Large scale spatially explicit modeling of blue and green water dynamics in a temperate mid-latitude basin”, Journal of Hydrology 2018, 562, 84-102.
  16. Afshari, S., Tavakoly, A., Rajib, A., Zheng, X. et al. “Comparison of new generation low-complexity flood inundation mapping tools with a hydrodynamic model”, Journal of Hydrology 2018, 556, 539-556.
  17. Rajib, A., Merwade, V. “Hydrologic response to future land use change in the Upper Mississippi River Basin by the end of 21st century”, Hydrological Processes 2017, 31, 3645-3661.
  18. Paul, M., Rajib, A., Ahiablame, L. “Spatial and temporal evaluation of hydrological response to climate and land use change in three South Dakota watersheds”, Journal of the American Water Resources Association 2017, 53(1), 69-88.
  19. Ahiablame, L., Sinha, T., Paul, M., Ji, J.-H., Rajib, A. “Streamflow response to potential land use and climate changes in the James River watershed, Midwest United States”, Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies 2017, 14, 150-166.   
  20. Morsi, M., Goodall, J., Castronova, A., Dash, P., Merwade, V., Sadler, J., Rajib, A., Horsburgh, J., Tarboton, D. “Design of a metadata framework for environmental models with an example hydrologic application in HydroShare”, Environmental Modelling & Software 2017, 93, 13-28.
  21. Rajib, A., Merwade, V., Kim, L.I, Zhao, L., Song, C., Zhe, S. “SWATShare – A web platform for collaborative research and education through online sharing, simulation and visualization of SWAT models”, Environmental Modelling & Software 2016, 75, 498-512.
  22. Rajib, A., Merwade, V., Yu, Z. “Multi-objective calibration of a hydrologic model using spatially distributed remotely sensed/in-situ soil moisture”, Journal of Hydrology 2016, 536, 192-207.
  23. Rajib, A., Merwade, V. “Improving soil moisture accounting and streamflow prediction in SWAT by incorporating a modified time‐dependent Curve Number method”, Hydrological Processes 2016, 30, 603-624.
  24. Rajib, A., Ahiablame, L., Paul, M. “Modeling the effects of future land use change on water quality under multiple scenarios: a case study of low-input agriculture with hay/pasture production”, Sustainability of Water Quality and Ecology 2016, 8, 50-66.
  25. McBean, E.A., Rajib, A., Rahman, M.M. “Improved sustainability of water supply options in areas with arsenic-impacted groundwater”, Water 2013, 5, 1941-1951.
  26. Rajib, A., Rahman, M.M. “A comprehensive modeling study on Regional Climate Model application- regional warming projections in monthly resolution under IPCC A1B scenario”, Atmosphere 2012, 3, 557-572.
  27. Rajib, A., Rahman, M.M., McBean, E.A. “Evaluating technological resilience of small drinking water systems under the projected changes of climate”, Journal of Water and Climate Change 2012, 3, 110–124.

Book Chapters and Technical Reports

  1. Merwade, V., Rajib, A., Liu, Z. 2018. “An integrated approach for flood inundation modeling on large scales”. In Jung and Wang (Eds.), Bridging Science and Policy Implication for Managing Climate Extremes, pp. 133-155.
  2. Maidment, D., Rajib, A., Lin, P., Clark, E. (Eds.) 2016. National Water Center Innovators Program Summer Institute Report 2016, CUAHSI Technical Report 13, USA, 122p.

Professional Affiliations

  • Chair, Wetland Hydrology Task Committee, American Society of Civil Engineers (2022-present).
  • Advisor, State and Tribal Wetland Programs, The Environmental Law Institute (2022-present).
  • Technical Advisor, Texas Integrated Flooding Framework (2021 – present).
  • Voting member, Texas Water Development Board Regional Flood Planning Group (2020 – present).
  • Guest Editor, Special issue of Remote Sensing journal (2020 – present).

Contact

Adnan Rajib