Rafael

Assistant Professor

he/him

Dr. Rafael J. P. Schmitt is an assistant professor at UC Santa Barbara’s Environmental Studies Program. Previously, he led the water research program at Stanford’s Natural Capital Project. Rafael’s research concerns interconnections between river systems and societies, with a special focus on sustainable water infrastructure and the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem Nexus. Working across scales and geographic regions, Rafael leverages his background in hydrology, fluvial geomorphology, water resources engineering, and information technology to develop novel and interdisciplinary approaches to pressing environmental challenges. Beyond authoring nearly 40 peer-reviewed papers, Rafael has worked intensively with multi-lateral organizations, governments, and non-profit organizations to make his research decision-relevant. 

Rafael holds a B.Sc. in Environmental Science, a M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering (from ETH Zurich) and a Ph.D. in Information Technology (from Politecnico di Milano).

Research

Rivers are fascinating natural systems, underpin ecosystem and societies, and “flow” through many global challenges, from climate adaptation and mitigation to natural hazards, meeting human needs for water, energy, and food, and tackling the global biodiversity crisis. At the same time, rivers are heavily altered by human activities, requiring conceptualizing their functions and management at the intersection of human and natural systems.

The Schmitt Lab for River System Science and Sustainability (RS3) focuses on developing new models to understand river processes, on developing new models to understand river processes, from sediment transport to biodiversity and water quality, and leverages those models to solve environmental challenges. Our research highlights, for example, how sediment transport is critical for climate adaptation in the world’s large rivers and how new network models enable strategic planning that reduces the impacts of future dams on sediment. Additional research interests include coupling of catchment and river processes, river management under deep uncertainty, understanding future roles for river infrastructure, and quantifying the multifaceted roles of rivers for societies and human development.

Education

  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University (2017-2020)
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, UC Berkeley (2017)
  • Ph.D., Politecnico di Milano (2017)
  • M.Sc., ETH Zurich, Environmental Engineering (2013)
  • B.Sc., ETH Zurich, Environmental Science (2009)

Courses Taught

  • ENV144: Rivers
  • ENV194WW – Group study: Water Collaboratory

Website/CV

CV

Specialization

  • River and catchment processes, hydropower, water resources management