CEE Faculty Profile

Aris P. Georgakakos

Professor and Director, Georgia Water Resources Institute

Affinity Group: Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Water Resources

Office: Mason 281
Phone: 404/894-2240
Email: ageorgak@ce.gatech.edu
Web: http://www.gwri.gatech.edu

Dr. Aris P. Georgakakos holds a civil engineering Diploma from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, and Masters and Ph. D. degrees in water resources from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Georgakakos is currently a Professor at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Tech, Head of the Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Water Resources Program, and Director of the Georgia Water Resources Institute. Dr. Georgakakos’ research and technology transfer activities aim to develop and implement prototypical information and decision support systems for integrated water resources assessment, development, and management. These systems combine data from conventional and remote sources, GIS, and models from various scientific and engineering disciplines (including climate, hydrology, agricultural science, water resources, wetland and river ecology, hydro-thermal power systems, economics, statistics, and operations research). Dr. Georgakakos has been involved in several world regions and his decision support systems are currently used for river basin planning and management in Georgia and the southeast US, California, East Africa, Brazil, Jordan, Greece, and China. His research and technology transfer activities have been sponsored by U.S. and foreign organizations including the US Geological Survey, US Army Corps of Engineers, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, World Bank, US and European International Development Agencies, and several domestic and foreign electrical utilities. Dr. Georgakakos publishes extensively, is an Associate Editor for the Advances in Water Resources Journal and the Journal of Hydrology, and currently serves as a Convening Lead Author for the water sector chapter of the US National Climate Assessment.

Research Interests

  • Integrated water, energy, and environmental planning and management
  • Climate change impact assessments and adaptation planning
  • Flood and drought management
  • Hydro-thermal coordination and operational management
  • Crop modeling and agro-economic planning
  • Remote sensing of hydrologic variables
  • Information and decision support systems for river basin planning and management

Education

  • Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1984.
  • M.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1983.
  • B.S., Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece, 1980.

Honors

  1. Keynote and invited speaker in several international conferences and workshops; Ministerial briefings.
  2. Convening Lead Author, Water Sector Chapter, 2013 U.S. National Climate Assessment, U.S. Global Change Research Program.
  3. Member, Federal Advisory Committee for the National Climate Assessment, U.S. Global Change Research Program, President’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), 2010-.
  4. Member, Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI), 2012-present. ACWI advises the Federal Government on activities and plans related to Federal water-information programs.
  5. Guest Editorial on National Institutes Summary Contributions to U.S. Congress, 2008.
  6. National PhD Dissertation Award in natural science and engineering (Dr. A.Tidwell: Climate Change Assessment for the Nile Basin); Conferred by the University Council of Water Resources, 2008.
  7. Testimonies before Congressional Subcommittees on water resources, environmental, and energy issues, 2007, 2001, 1997.
  8. Honorary Appointment, Extraordinary Professor of Water Resources, Un. of Pretoria, South Africa, 2007.
  9. Fellow, International Water Resources Association, 2005.
  10. National Research Council Certificate of Appreciation for service in two Committees in 2004 and 2005.

Articles

  1. Zhang, F. and A. P. Georgakakos, “Joint Variable Spatial Downscaling,” Climatic Change, 111(3), Page 945-972, 2012. Also, on line reference doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0167-9, 2011.
  2. Georgakakos, K.P., Graham, N.H., Cheng, F.-Y., Spencer, C., Shamir, E., Georgakakos, A.P., Yao, H., and Kistenmacher, M., “Value of Adaptive Water Resources Management in Northern California under Climatic Variability and Change: Dynamic Hydroclimatology,” J. Hydrology, Vol. 412-413, pages 47-65, 2012. Also, on line reference doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2011.04.032, 2011.
  3. Georgakakos, A.P., Yao, H., Kistenmacher, M., Georgakakos, K.P., Graham, N.H., Cheng, F.-Y., Spencer, C., Shamir, E., “Value of Adaptive Water Resources Management in Northern California under Climatic Variability and Change: Reservoir Management,” J. Hydrology, Vol. 412-413, pages 34-46, 2012. Also, on line reference doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2011.04.038, 2011.
  4. Koutsoyiannis, D., H. Yao, and A.P. Georgakakos, “Multiyear Behavior and Monthly Simulation and Forecasting of the Nile River,” J. of Hydrological Sciences, 53(1), 142-164 2008.
  5. “Decision-Support Experiments and Evaluations using Seasonal-to-Interannual Forecasts and Observational Data: A Focus on Water Resources,” U.S. Climate Change Science Program Synthesis and Assessment Product 5.3, November 2008, 192p. Lead Author Team on Decision Support (alphabetically): Garfin, G., A.P. Georgakakos, B. Morehouse, P. Restrepo, R. Webb, and B. Yarnal.
  6. Georgakakos, A.P., “Decision Support Systems for Integrated Water Resources Management with an Application to the Nile Basin,” Chapter 5 in “Topics on System Analysis and Integrated Water Resources Management,” eds. A. Castelletti and R. Soncini-Sessa, Elsevier, 2007.
  7. Georgakakos, K.P., N.E. Graham, A.P. Georgakakos, and H. Yao, "Demonstrating Integrated Forecast and Reservoir Management (INFORM) for northern California in an operational environment," IAHS Publ. pg. 439-444, 2007.
  8. Brumbelow, K. and A.P. Georgakakos, “Determining crop-water production functions using yield-irrigation gradient algorithms,” Agricultural Water Management 87(2), 151-161, 2007.
  9. Brumbelow, K. and A.P. Georgakakos, “Optimization and assessment of agricultural water sharing scenarios under multiple socio-economic objectives,” ASCE Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 133(3), 264-274, 2007.
  10. Brumbelow, K. and A.P. Georgakakos, “Consideration of climate variability and change in agricultural water resources planning,” ASCE Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 133(3), 275-285, 2007.
  11. DeMarchi, C., A.P. Georgakakos, and C. Peters-Lidard, “Quantification and Reduction of Predictive Uncertainty for Sustainable Water Resources Management,” Two part paper, IAHS Publ., pg. 313-334, 2007.
  12. Georgakakos, K.P., Graham, N.H., Carpenter, T.M., Georgakakos, A., and H. Yao, “Integrating Climate-Hydrology Forecasts and Multi-Objective Reservoir Management for Northern California.” EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union, Vol. 86, No. 12, pages 122-127, March 2005.
  13. Yao, H, and A.P. Georgakakos, "Assessment of Folsom Lake Response to Historical and Potential Future Climate Scenarios," Journal of Hydrology, 249, 176-196, 2001.
  14. Brumbelow, K., and A.P. Georgakakos, “An Assessment of Irrigation Needs and Crop Yield for the United States under Potential Climate Change,” Journal of Geophysical Research—Atmospheres, 106(D21), 27383-27405, 2001.

Proceedings

  1. Zhang, F., and A. Georgakakos, “Climate and Hydrologic Change Assessment for Georgia,” Proceedings of the Georgia Water Resources Conference, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 12-13 April 2011.
  2. Braneon, C., and A. Georgakakos, “Climate Change Impacts on Georgia Agriculture and Irrigation Demand,” Proceedings of the Georgia Water Resources Conference, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 12-13 April 2011.
  3. Chen, C-J., and A. Georgakakos, “Seasonal Rainfall Prediction Using Sea Surface Temperature Information,” Proceedings of the Georgia Water Resources Conference, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 12-13 April 2011.
  4. Kistenmacher, M., and A. Georgakakos, “Environmental Flow Impacts of Alternative Regulation Scenarios for the ACF River Basin,” Proceedings of the Georgia Water Resources Conference, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 12-13 April 2011.
  5. Kim, D-H., and A. Georgakakos, “A New Hydrologic Routing Model,” Proceedings of the Georgia Water Resources Conference, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 12-13 April 2011.
  6. Yao, H. and A. Georgakakos, “ACF River Basin: Climate and Demand Change Impacts and Mitigation Measures,” Proceedings of the Georgia Water Resources Conference, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 12-13 April 2011.

Presentations

  1. Chen, C-J., and A. Georgakakos, “Seasonal Rainfall Forecasting Using Sea Surface Temperatures with an application in the Southeast US,” Session titled “Advances in Hydrometeorological Predictions and Applications,” American Geophysical Union Meeting, San Francisco, California, 5-9 December 2011.
  2. Kistenmacher, M., and A. Georgakakos, “Forecast Ensemble Reliability Assessment and Uncertainty Management for Reservoir Systems,” Session titled “Hydro-climatic Forecasts and Real-Time Operation of Water Resources Systems,” American Geophysical Union Meeting, San Francisco, California, 5-9 December 2011.
  3. Zhang, F., and A. Georgakakos, “Joint Variable Spatial Downscaling (JVSD): A New Downscaling Method with Application to the Southeast US,” Poster article under Session GC21B titled Regional Climate Impacts 2: States of Change---Climate Change and Impacts in the United States, American Geophysical Union Meeting, San Francisco, California, 5–9 December 2011.
  4. Georgakakos, A., “Agriculture in the Context of Integrated Water Resources Management,” Invited lecture, Monsanto Company, St. Louis, MO, June 8-9, 2011.
  5. Georgakakos, A., and M. Hassan, “Managing the Nile at a Time of Social and Environmental Change,” 2nd Global Tech Alliance Workshop on Sub-Saharan Africa: Cooperation & Capacity Building, 23-24 May 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
  6. Georgakakos, A., “ACF Water Tradeoffs and Management Strategies” Invited lecture, Columbus Georgia Tech Alumni Association, Columbus, Georgia, March 22, 2011.
  7. Georgakakos, A., “Water Resources Challenges, Science, and Politics in the Nile Basin,” Founder’s Day Symposium, Ivan Allen College, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, 14-15 March 2011.

Reports

“US Water Sector Climate Change Assessment,” U.S. Climate Change Science Program Synthesis and Assessment Report, in preparation, 2012, Convening Lead Author.