Title: Assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and IIHR assistant faculty research engineer

Research interests: Hydrology, numerical and hydrologic modeling, flood forecasting

As a child growing up in Colombia, Humberto Vergara dreamed of becoming a scientist and an inventor. Now, remembering his boyhood ambition, he says, “I do feel like that dream came true.”

He followed in the footsteps of his father, an engineer, and earned a BS degree in environmental engineering at El Bosque University in Colombia. He came to the United States and the University of Oklahoma for MSc and PhD degrees in civil engineering, with a focus in water resources.

He stayed on at the University of Oklahoma as a research scientist. He was also affiliated with NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory. In this role, he was one of the main developers of a flash flood forecasting system that the National Weather Service now uses in daily operations. “A lot of my work has been around early warning applications and, in particular, flash flood forecasting,” Vergara says.

Predicting flash floods is challenging because these events happen so fast, Vergara says. Also, there are essentially no observations to guide the development of hydrologic modeling and improved tools. “You have to be creative and clever,” he explains.

Vergara is thrilled that his forecasting system is making a difference. “We all dream of seeing our research being used to solve real-life problems,” he says. “Now I’m looking forward to the next opportunity.”

For Vergara, that opportunity is in West Africa. He’s part of a team working with NASA to develop a similar flood forecasting system there.

“I am very passionate about this work,” Vergara says. “It’s going to be used to prevent loss of life and losses in property. What I’m doing- it’s very important for society.”

When asked how he ended up at Iowa, Vergara says that when he saw a position open at the College of Engineering and the Iowa Flood Center, he jumped at the chance. “It was a no-brainer,” he says. “I had to apply.”

He and his family- wife Diana, also an environmental engineer, and three children ages 9, 11, and 13- are enjoying Iowa City and settling in well. The kids relished the chance to play in real snow, although Vergara was less enthusiastic about shoveling it.

He’s happier about the opportunity to play basketball at noon with his colleagues (including IFC founding director Witold Krajewski). “It’s a great way for me to disconnect in the middle of the week,” Vergara says. As a musician who plays guitar and piano, he’s also finding opportunities to jam.

“That also fills my heart,” he says.