Website: https://cee.princeton.edu/people/amilcare-porporato

Primary Affiliations: Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research Area: Dr. Porporato's research focuses on the quantitative description and prediction of the complex dynamics of the terrestrial water cycle, with special interest in the impact of the hydrologic cycle on temporal and spatial variability of ecosystem processes (eco-hydrology) and the related energy, carbon and nutrient cycles. He uses both theoretical and experimental approaches to isolate and describe the dominant dynamical components of these physical and biological interactions. Specific research areas focus on soil moisture-microbes-plant dynamics, mathematical modeling of biogeochemical cycles, soil-atmosphere dynamics, and sustainable use of soil and water resources (irrigation, soil salinization and remediation) with particular attention to semiarid ecosystems, both natural and agricultural. Because of the inherent interdisciplinarity of such problems, his research methods draw from fluid mechanics, soil physics, plant physiology, statistical physics, nonlinear dynamics, non-equilibrium thermodynamics, and complex system science.