At the Alabama Water Institute, Dr. Sifan A. Koriche leverages his multidisciplinary expertise in hydrology, climate science, and geospatial engineering to advance the nation’s water resource modeling capabilities. His main research focuses on large-scale hydrological modeling and contributing to a major national effort: the development, evaluation, and implementation of the Next-Generation Water Resource Modeling framework. This work is central to the mission of the Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology (CIROH) and aims to advance water prediction across the diverse landscapes of the United States. A key component of this research involves deploying these advanced models on high-performance computing (HPC) clusters and cloud platforms. In addition to this core focus, Dr. Koriche leads a project to develop a hydrologic atlas for the southeastern U.S., creating a comprehensive framework of integrated risk and opportunity metrics to support water resource management in this water-rich region. He also contributes as a co-investigator to collaborative efforts like the “NextGen In A Box” project. This work aims to facilitate efficient research-to-operations transitions, ultimately enhancing our ability to model and predict water resources at various scales.
Dr. Koriche is also dedicated to fostering the next generation of scientists. He currently mentor’s undergraduate student in applying machine learning and AI for seasonal lake level forecasting, using critical water systems like the Great Salt Lake as a case study.
With over fifteen years of experience, Dr. Koriche brings a wealth of international expertise to AWI, highlighted by prestigious honors including the Netherlands Fellowship Program and the Marie-Curie Research Fellowship. He has made key contributions to diverse, multinational projects funded by the European Union and the National Science Foundation, where he developed skills in operating cutting-edge climate and hydrological research. His work has focused on examining regional and large-scale hydroclimatic processes influencing inland water bodies, leading to collaborations with a global network of scientists from institutions such as University of Reading, University of Bremen, Bristol University, University of Minnesota, Central University of Technology and California Polytechnic State University.
Outside of his research, Dr. Koriche is dedicated to exploring his Oromo heritage, including its rich folklore, the annual ‘Irreechaa’ thanksgiving festival, and the Gadaa system—a holistic system of governance of the Oromo and other Cushitic peoples currently residing in the Eastern Africa. Shaped by his upbringing within this rich socio-cultural fabric, he is a people person who greatly enjoys social events and interactions. He also unwinds with movies and TV series.
Education:
Ph.D., Atmosphere, Climate and Ocean Sciences [University of Reading, UK]
M.S., Spatial Hydrology & Geospatial Engineering [University of Twente, The Netherlands]
B.S., Soil and Water Engineering [Haramaya University, Ethiopia]