We Develop Technologies for Monitoring and Mitigating Natural Hazards
- Research Areas: Water Resources Engg, Hydrometeorology, Climate Change Impacts
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Hazards: Floods, Landslide, Erosion.
- Tools and Methods: Land Surface and Hydrodynamic Modeling, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Remote Sensing, Data Assimilation, High-Performance Computing.
Dr. Manabendra Saharia
Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering
Associate Faculty, Yardi School of Artificial Intelligence
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Dr. Manabendra Saharia is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and an associate faculty in the Yardi School of Artificial Intelligence. Prior to joining IIT Delhi, Dr. Saharia held positions in the hydrology labs of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). He received his PhD in Water Resources Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. At IIT Delhi, his HydroSense research lab focuses on developing physics and data-driven techniques to monitor and mitigate natural hazards such as floods and landslides. He has been recognized for his scientific contributions, having received Young Scientist awards from both the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI) and the International Society for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (ISEES).
Fulbright Kalam Climate Fellow (USA, 24-25), NASI Platinum Jubilee Young Scientist Award (India), Sir CV Raman Young Scientist Award (India), National Geospatial Emerging Faculty Fellow Award (2024), Visiting Scientist (NCAR, USA), Global Guest Professor (Keio University, Japan), CDRI Fellowship (Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure).
Lab Updates
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PhD Scholar Ravi Raj’s latest publication in CATENA on national soil loss estimates covered by DownToEarth magazine
April 27, 2024 -
PhD Scholar Nirdesh Sharma received a travel grant to IGRASS 2024, Athens for his topic “Computationally Efficient Deep Learning for Landslides”
April 13, 2024 -
Project Scientist Dr. Anil Kumar and Dr. Manabendra Saharia publishes Textbook “Python for Water and Environment”
March 22, 2024 -
PhD Scholar Ravi Raj submitted his thesis on Soil Erosion and joined United States Department of Agriculture for his postdoc
February 22, 2024
Monitoring and Mitigating Natural Hazards
Our mission is to develop technologies for monitoring and mitigating natural hazards, with the aim of reducing their impact on life, the environment, and the economy. For this, we combine physics-based modeling and cutting-edge AI/ML techniques to simulate and investigate the terrestrial water cycle. We focus on developing actionable early warning systems for floods, droughts, and landslides as well as strategies for sustainable water management that can aid the most vulnerable regions of the world.
Hydrologic Modeling and Forecasting
Water resources modeling and forecasting at local to global scales using land surface and hydrodynamic models. Focus on supercomputing, data assimilation, and hybrid physics-AI approaches for developing early warning systems (EWS).
Geospatial Artificial Intelligence
Application of AI techniques for extracting knowledge from structured and unstructured earth observation (EO) data. Focus on satellite and radar precipitation, damage detection, flood inundation mapping, gravimetry etc.
Climate Impacts
Assessing the impact of climate change on water resources, natural hazards, and built infrastructure. Developing techniques for advanced physical risk assessment and adaptation strategies.
Research Datasets Freely Available
As researchers, we stand on the shoulders of the community. We are ardent supporters of open-science and release our datasets and code into public domain, except when restricted by source. No co-authorship is expected for using any of our published data. However, you are welcome to share your research by E-mail. We love hearing about interesting applications!