Rafael L. Bras
Rafael Luis Bras (born 1950) is a Puerto Rican civil engineer best known for his contributions in soil-vegetation-atmosphere system modeling. He served as the provost and executive vice president of Academic Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology[1] from 2010 to 2020 while maintaining faculty appointments in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.[2] He is currently a professor of water engineering at the Georgia Tech School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.[3]
Rafael L. Bras | |
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Georgia Tech Professor and former Provost Rafael L. Bras | |
Born | Rafael Luis Bras 1950 (age 70–71) |
Alma mater | |
Awards | Robert E. Horton Medal National Academy of Engineering |
Scientific career | |
Fields |
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Institutions |
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Website | Office of Provost |
Academic
Bras a native of Puerto Rico studied at MIT, where he received a bachelor's (1972), a master's in civil engineering (1974), and a science doctorate in water resources and hydrology (1975). On completion of his doctorate, he worked for a time as an assistant professor at the University of Puerto Rico school of engineering, and performed some consulting work on the island.
He returned to MIT in July 1976, where he has served for more than 32 years as a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and held an appointment in the Departments of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. He is a past chair of the MIT faculty, former head of the Civil and Environmental Engineering department, and director of the Ralph M. Parsons Laboratory at MIT.
Professional
As an engineering hydrologist, his major areas of interest include land-atmosphere interactions and geomorphology. He is considered one of the world's leading experts in global warming, and has also served as a professional consultant in multiple projects around the world.
He is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union, the Boston Society of Civil Engineers, and a member of the International Association for Hydraulic Research and the American Meteorological Society. He is also a registered professional engineer in several states. He is listed as an ISI highly cited researcher[4] by Institute for Scientific Information in Ecology/Environment, Engineering.
On April 24, 2008, Bras was appointed as dean of The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine, effective September 1, 2008 .
On July 15, 2010, Bras was named provost of the Georgia Institute of Technology.[1][5]
On January 22, 2020, Bras announced plans step down as provost and remain a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He officially stepped down on October 1, 2020. [6]
Honors and awards
- Corresponding Member, National Academy of Sciences of Mexico, 2011
- Anthony J. Drexel Exceptional Achievement Award, 2010 [7]
- National Academy of Arts and Sciences of Puerto Rico, 2009
- James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award, MIT, 2008
- Simon W. Freese Environmental Engineering Award and Lecture, ASCE, 2008
- Honorary Diplomate of Water Resources Engineering, American Academy of Water Resources Engineers, 2007
- Robert E. Horton Medal, AGU, 2007
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2006
- Corresponding Member, National Academy of Engineering, Mexico, 2004
- Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Award Hall of Fame, 2003
- NASA Public Service Medal, 2002
- National Academy of Engineering, 2001
- Clarke Prize Laureate for Outstanding Achievement in Water Science and Technology, 1998
- Fellow, American Society of Civil Engineers, 1994
- Walter Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize, ASCE, 1993
- Fellow, American Meteorological Society, 1992
- Honoris Causa Laurea, Instituto di Idraulica Agraria, Universita Degli Studi di Perugia, Italy, 1992
- James B. Macelwane Medal of the American Geophysical Union, 1982
- Fellow, American Geophysical Union, 1982
- John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, 1982
- Horton Award, American Geophysical Union, 1981
- Giants in Science Award of the Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) Mathematics, Science and Engineering Network
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award, MIT
- Albert Baez, Jr. Award and the Outstanding Hispanic Educator Award, Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Award Conference
- Horton Lecturer, American Meteorological Society
Books
- An Introduction to Hydrologic Science, Addison-Wesley, 1990.
- Random Functions and Hydrology, with Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe, Dover Publications, 1993.
See also
- List of Puerto Ricans
- Puerto Rican scientists and inventors
References
- "Rafael Bras Named Georgia Tech Provost". Georgia Institute of Technology. 2010-07-07. Retrieved 2011-07-10.
- Bras, Rafael. "K. Harrison Brown Family Chair". Retrieved 3 February 2014.
- "Water Resources Engineering". ce.gatech.edu. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- Thomson ISI. "Rafael L. Bras, ISI Highly Cited Researchers". Retrieved 31 January 2014.
- http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/georgia-tech-hires-new-567586.html
- "Rafael L. Bras to Step Down as Georgia Tech's Provost". www.news.gatech.edu. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- Bras, Rafael. "Anthony J. Drexel Exceptional Achievement Award". Retrieved 4 February 2014.