
Mauricio E. Arias, PhD, PE
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
ENC 3216
4202 E. Fowler Avenue ENG-030
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL 33620-5350
Phone: (813) 974-5593;
Email: mearias[at]usf.edu
Research group website: www.watershedsustainability.org
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
ENC 3216
4202 E. Fowler Avenue ENG-030
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL 33620-5350
Phone: (813) 974-5593;
Email: mearias[at]usf.edu
Research group website: www.watershedsustainability.org
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
- B.S. Environmental Engineering (Magna Cum Laude), University of Florida., Gainesville, FL.
- M.E. Environmental Engineering, University of Florida., Gainesville, FL.
- Ph.D. Civil Engineering, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Postdoctoral Fellowship in Sustainability Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, US
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Water Resources Sustainability
- Ecological Engineering
- Watershed Hydrology
- Water Quality Modeling
- Wetland Ecohydrology
- Environmental Flows
CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS
- Coupling lake, watershed, and estuarine models to better understand the role of engineered freshwater discharges in driving the severity, location, and timing of harmful algal blooms. Awarded by the US Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center (USF PI, in partnership with UF).
- Temporal and Spatial Optimization of Existing and Emerging Nutrient Management Technologies and Practices for Control of Harmful Algal Blooms ($1M), 2020-2023. Awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency (#840090). Co-PI.
- Investigation of Stormwater BMPs in the City of Tampa, 20-21. Awarded by the City of Tampa. Sole PI.
- Landfill Leachate Management with Adsorbent-enhanced Constructed Wetlands, 2021-2022. Awarded by the Hinkley Center for Solid Hazardous Waste Management.
- Evaluation of Hydrodynamic Effects of Manchester Waterway, 2021-2022. Awarded by the Manchester Waterway Civic Association.
COURSES TAUGHT
- Ecological Engineering
- Fluid Mechanics
- Global Water Resources Sustainability
PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATION
- Professional Engineer, State of Florida, 2021-.
- Gulf Research Program Early Career Fellow, National Academy of Sciences 2021-2023.
- McKnight Junior Faculty Fellowship, 2020-2021
- HydroLearn Fellow, 2020
- Giorgio Ruffolo Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship, Harvard University, 2014-2016
- University of Canterbury International Doctoral Student Scholarship, 2009-2012
- Norman Casey Scholarship. University of Florida, 2006.
- 1st Place, Water Environment Federation National Student Design Competition, 2006
- 1st Place, Florida Water Environment Association Student Design Competition, 2006
- Holtgrieve, G.W. and Arias, M.E. Optimizing Amazonian Dams for Nature. Science 375 (6582), 714-715.
- Haberstroh, C.J.*, Arias, M.E., Yin, Z, Y., Sok, T. Wang, M.C. Plastic transport in a complex confluence of the Mekong river in Cambodia. Environmental Research Letters 16 (9), 095009.
- Miller, A. J.*, Arias, M.E., Alvarez, S. Building and Agricultural Value at Risk in Florida (USA) from Flooding during Hurricane Irma. Natural Hazards 109 (2), 1327-1348. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-04880-w
- Tarabih, O*. and Arias, M.E., 2020. Hydrological and Water Quality Trends through the Lenses of Historical Operation Schedules in Lake Okeechobee. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management (In Press). https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0001395.
- Platz, M.*, Takeshita, Y., Bartels, E., Arias, M.E., Evaluating the potential for autonomous measurements of net community production and calcification as a tool for monitoring coral restoration Ecological Engineering (Accepted, September 3th, 2020).
- Arias, M.E., Farinosi, F., Lee, E., Livino, A., Briscoe, J., Moorcroft, P.R., Impacts of climate change and deforestation on hydropower planning in the Brazilian Amazon Nature Sustainability (2020) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0492-y.
- Kaura, M.*, Arias, ME., Benjamin, J. *, Oeurng, C., Cochrane, TA. The role of forests in securing hydropower sustainability in Cambodia, Ecosystem Services 39, 101003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2019.101003 .
- Arias, ME, Holtgrieve, GW, Ngor, BP, Dang, TD, Piman, T. Maintaining Perspective of Ongoing Environmental Change in the Mekong Floodplains. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2019.01.002. (Featured in issue front cover).
- Hecht, J. S., Lacombe, G., Arias, M. E., Dang, T. D., Piman, T. Hydropower dams of the Mekong River basin: a review of their hydrological impacts. J of Hydrology, 568 285-300. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.10.045.
- Sabo, J.L., Ruhi, A., Holtgrieve, G. H., Elliott, V., M. E. Arias, Ngor, P.B., Räsänen, T., Nam, S., Designing river flows to improve food security futures in the Lower Mekong Basin, Science Dec 8 2017.
- Dang Duc, T.*, Cochrane, Arias, M.E., Quantifying sediment dynamics in mega deltas using remote sensing data: a case study of the Mekong floodplains. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation 68 (June 2018) 105–115.
- Arias, M.E., Cochrane, T.A., Kummu, M., Lauri, H., Koponen, J., Holtgrieve, G.W., Piman, T. (2014) Impacts of hydropower and climate change on drivers of ecological productivity of Southeast Asia’s most important wetland. Ecological Modelling 272C 252-263, DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2013.10.015.
Curriculum Vitae
Link to current research
Scopus Profile
ResearchGate
Google Scholar