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Amilcare Porporato, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Associate Professor of Hydrology & Fluid Dynamics

Amilcare Porporato

Amilcare Porporato earned a Master Degree in Civil Engineering (summa cum laude) in 1992 from Polytechnic of Turin and his Ph.D. in 1996 from Polytechnic of Milan. He was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Hydraulics of the Polytechnic of Turin in May 1995 and received tenure in January 1998. He moved to Duke University in 2003, where he is now Full Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering with a secondary appointment with the Nicholas School of the Environment.

In June 1996, Porporato received the Arturo Parisatti International Price, awarded by the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere e Arti. He was Research Associate at the Texas A&M University (USA) in 1998 and Visiting Scholar at Princeton University (USA), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, from 1999 to 2001. In 2008-2009 he was the first Landolt & Cie Visiting Chair in “Innovative Strategies for a sustainable Future” at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland

His main research interests regard nonlinear and stochastic dynamical systems, hydrometeorology and soil-atmosphere interaction, soil moisture and plant dynamics, soil biogeochemistry, and ecohydrology.

Porporato has been Editor of Water Resources Research (AGU) from 2004-2009, and he is now member of the editorial board of Advances in Water Resources. Among other things, he was chairman and convener of the Ecohydrology sessions of the AGU Spring Meeting in 2001 and 2002 and of the EGU in 2004-2006. Porporato has been part of the Italian research groups of Turbulence and Vorticity and of Climate, Soil and Vegetation Interaction, an advisor for real-time forecasting in the Piedmont Region (Italy), and for environmental problems (US National Academy).

Porporato's didactic experience comprises courses in Environmental Fluid Mechanics, Hydraulics, Hydraulic Constructions, Statistical and Physical Hydrology, Ecohydrology, Nonlinear Dynamics and Stochastic Processes. He has also been the didactic coordinator for the International School "Hydroaid: Water for Development", co-organized by the Polytechnic of Turin and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Porporato is author of more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, several publications presented at national and international conferences and invited talks. He is also co-author of the book "Ecohydrology of water controlled ecosystems" (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2004) and the edited the book "Dryland Ecohydrology" (Springer, 2005).

Contact Info:
Office Location:  2459 CIEMAS
Office Phone:  (919) 660-5213
Email Address: send me a message

Education:

Ph.D.Polytechnic University of Turin (Italy)1996
M.S.Polytechnic University of Turin (Italy)1992
Specialties:

Hydrology
Geophysics
Nonlinear Dynamics
Water, Resources and Treatment
Environmental Impacts
Environmental Engineering
Research Interests:

Near-wall turbulence dynamics, nonlinear analysis of hydrologic time series, stochastic soil moisture dynamics and water balance, soil-atmosphere interaction, and ecohydrology

Representative Publications   (More Publications)

  1. Molini, A; Katul, GG; Porporato, A, Maximum discharge from snowmelt in a changing climate, Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 38 no. 5 (March, 2011), pp. n/a-n/a, American Geophysical Union (AGU), ISSN 0094-8276 [doi]  [abs]
  2. Porporato, A; Rigby, JR; Daly, E, Irreversibility and fluctuation theorem in stationary time series., Physical Review Letters, vol. 98 no. 9 (March, 2007), pp. 094101, ISSN 0031-9007 [17359157], [doi]  [abs]
  3. Manzoni, S; Katul, G; Fay, PA; Polley, HW; Porporato, A, Modeling the vegetation-atmosphere carbon dioxide and water vapor interactions along a controlled CO2 gradient, Ecological Modelling, vol. 222 no. 3 (February, 2011), pp. 653-665, Elsevier BV, ISSN 0304-3800 [doi]  [abs]
  4. Daly, E; Porporato, A, Intertime jump statistics of state-dependent Poisson processes., Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics, vol. 75 no. 1 Pt 1 (January, 2007), pp. 011119, ISSN 1539-3755 [PhysRevE.75.011119], [doi]  [abs]
  5. Vico, G; Porporato, A, From rainfed agriculture to stress-avoidance irrigation: I. A generalized irrigation scheme with stochastic soil moisture, Advances in Water Resources, vol. 34 no. 2 (February, 2011), pp. 263-271, Elsevier BV, ISSN 0309-1708 [doi]  [abs]
  6. Daly, E; Porporato, A, State-dependent fire models and related renewal processes., Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics, vol. 74 no. 4 Pt 1 (October, 2006), pp. 041112, ISSN 1539-3755 [PhysRevE.74.041112], [doi]  [abs]
  7. Vico, G; Porporato, A, From rainfed agriculture to stress-avoidance irrigation: II. Sustainability, crop yield, and profitability, Advances in Water Resources, vol. 34 no. 2 (February, 2011), pp. 272-281, Elsevier BV, ISSN 0309-1708 [doi]  [abs]
  8. Daly, E; Porporato, A, Impact of hydroclimatic fluctuations on the soil water balance, Water Resources Research, vol. 42 no. 6 (June, 2006), pp. 06401 -, American Geophysical Union (AGU), ISSN 0043-1397 [2005WR004606], [doi]  [abs]
  9. Ceola, S; Botter, G; Bertuzzo, E; Porporato, A; Rodriguez-Iturbe, I; Rinaldo, A, Comparative study of ecohydrological streamflow probability distributions, Water Resources Research, vol. 46 no. 9 (September, 2010), pp. W09502, American Geophysical Union (AGU), ISSN 0043-1397 [repository], [doi]  [abs]
  10. Rodríguez-Iturbe, I; Isham, V; Cox, DR; Manfreda, S; Porporato, A, Space-time modeling of soil moisture: Stochastic rainfall forcing with heterogeneous vegetation, Water Resources Research, vol. 42 no. SUPPL. (June, 2006), pp. 06 - 05, American Geophysical Union (AGU), ISSN 0043-1397 [2005WR004497], [doi]  [abs]
  11. Rigby, JR; Porporato, A, Precipitation, dynamical intermittency, and sporadic randomness, Advances in Water Resources, vol. 33 no. 8 (August, 2010), pp. 923-932, Elsevier BV, ISSN 0309-1708 [doi]  [abs]
  12. Katul, G; Porporato, A; Cava, D; Siqueira, M, An analysis of intermittency, scaling, and surface renewal in atmospheric surface layer turbulence, Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena, vol. 215 no. 2 (March, 2006), pp. 117-126, Elsevier BV, ISSN 0167-2789 [004], [doi]  [abs]
  13. Molini, A; Katul, GG; Porporato, A, Causality across rainfall time scales revealed by continuous wavelet transforms, Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 115 no. 14 (January, 2010), pp. D14123, American Geophysical Union (AGU), ISSN 0148-0227 [repository], [doi]  [abs]
  14. Daly, E; Porporato, A, Probabilistic dynamics of some jump-diffusion systems., Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics, vol. 73 no. 2 Pt 2 (February, 2006), pp. 026108, ISSN 1539-3755 [PhysRevE.73.026108], [doi]  [abs]
  15. Konings, AG; Katul, GG; Porporato, A, The rainfall-no rainfall transition in a coupled land-convective atmosphere system, Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 37 no. 14 (July, 2010), pp. n/a-n/a, American Geophysical Union (AGU), ISSN 0094-8276 [repository], [doi]  [abs]
  16. Isham, V; Cox, DR; Rodríguez-Iturbe, I; Porporato, A; Manfreda, S, Representation of space-time variability of soil moisture, Proceedings. Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences, vol. 461 no. 2064 (December, 2005), pp. 4035-4055, The Royal Society, ISSN 1364-5021 [1568], [doi]  [abs]
  17. Thompson, SE; Katul, GG; Porporato, A, Role of microtopography in rainfall-runoff partitioning: An analysis using idealized geometry, Water Resources Research, vol. 46 no. 7 (July, 2010), pp. W07520, American Geophysical Union (AGU), ISSN 0043-1397 [Gateway.cgi], [doi]  [abs]
  18. Daly, E; Porporato, A, Some self-similar solutions in river morphodynamics, Water Resources Research, vol. 41 no. 12 (December, 2005), pp. 1-5, American Geophysical Union (AGU), ISSN 0043-1397 [2005WR004488], [doi]  [abs]
  19. Daly, E; Porporato, A, Effect of different jump distributions on the dynamics of jump processes., Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics, vol. 81 no. 6 Pt 1 (June, 2010), pp. 061133, ISSN 1539-3755 [repository], [doi]  [abs]
  20. Camporeale, C; Perona, P; Porporato, A; Ridolfi, L, On the long-term behavior of meandering rivers, Water Resources Research, vol. 41 no. 12 (December, 2005), pp. 1-13, American Geophysical Union (AGU), ISSN 0043-1397 [2005WR004109], [doi]  [abs]
  21. Racca, E; Porporato, A, Langevin equations from time series., Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics, vol. 71 no. 2 Pt 2 (February, 2005), pp. 027101, ISSN 1539-3755 [PhysRevE.71.027101], [doi]  [abs]
  22. Daly, E; Porporato, A, Similarity solutions of nonlinear diffusion problems related to mathematical hydraulics and the Fokker-Planck equation., Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics, vol. 70 no. 5 Pt 2 (November, 2004), pp. 056303, ISSN 1539-3755 [PhysRevE.70.056303], [doi]  [abs]
  23. Poggi, D; Porporato, A; Ridolfi, L; Albertson, JD; Katul, GG, The effect of vegetation density on canopy sub-layer turbulence, Boundary Layer Meteorology, vol. 111 no. 3 (June, 2004), pp. 565-587, Springer Nature [73], [doi]  [abs]
  24. Poggi, D; Porporato, A; Ridolfi, L; Albertson, JD; Katul, GG, Interaction between large and small scales in the canopy sublayer, Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 31 no. 5 (March, 2004), pp. n/a-n/a, American Geophysical Union (AGU) [2003GL018611], [doi]  [abs]
  25. Porporato, A; D'Odorico, P, Phase transitions driven by state-dependent poisson noise., Physical Review Letters, vol. 92 no. 11 (March, 2004), pp. 110601, ISSN 0031-9007 [15089118], [doi]  [abs]
  26. D'Odorico, P; Laio, F; Porporato, A; Rodriguez-Iturbe, I, Hydrologic controls on soil carbon and nitrogen cycles. II. A case study, Advances in Water Resources, vol. 26 no. 1 (January, 2003), pp. 59-70, Elsevier BV [S0309-1708(02)00095-7], [doi]  [abs]
  27. Laio, F; Porporato, A; Revelli, R; Ridolfi, L, A comparison of nonlinear flood forecasting methods, Water Resources Research, vol. 39 no. 5 (January, 2003), pp. TNN21-TNN24, American Geophysical Union (AGU) [2002WR001551], [doi]  [abs]
  28. Poggi, D; Porporato, A; Ridolfi, L, Analysis of the small-scale structure of turbulence on smooth and rough walls, Physics of Fluids, vol. 15 no. 1 (January, 2003), pp. 35-46, AIP Publishing [1.1521728], [doi]  [abs]
  29. Porporato, A; D'Odorico, P; Laio, F; Rodriguez-Iturbe, I, Hydrologic controls on soil carbon and nitrogen cycles. I. Modeling scheme, Advances in Water Resources, vol. 26 no. 1 (January, 2003), pp. 45-58, Elsevier BV [S0309-1708(02)00094-5], [doi]  [abs]
  30. Ridolfi, L; D'Odorico, P; Porporato, A; Rodriguez-Iturbe, I, Stochastic soil moisture dynamics along a hillslope, Journal of Hydrology, vol. 272 no. 1-4 (March, 2003), pp. 264-275, Elsevier BV [S0022-1694(02)00270-6], [doi]  [abs]

Honors and Awards

  • 1992, Magna Cum Laude distinction, Polytechnic of Turin, Italy.
  • 1996, “Arturo Parisatti” International Prize, awarded by the “Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti”, Venice (Italy), for the paper “Nonlinear analysis of river flow time sequences” by Amilcare Porporato and Luca Ridolfi.
  • 2007, “Professor Senol Utku’ Award (jointly with S. Manzoni), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University.
  • 2008-2009, first Landolt & Cie Visiting Chair in “Innovative Strategies for a sustainable Future” at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland .
Professional and Service Activities
  • Editor of Water Resources Research (AGU) 2004-2009.
  • Editorial Board Advances in Water Resources
  • Member of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) since 1999 and of the International Association of Hydrologic Sciences (IAHS) since 2004.
  • Didactic Coordinator, Hydroaid: International School “Water for Development”, Co-organized by the Polytechnic of Turin and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turin, Italy, 2002-2003.
  • National Research Group for Studies on the Impact of climate, soil, and vegetation on flood dynamics funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific and Technologic Research, MURST. 2001-2004.
  • Scientific Coordinator, Project for the study the geomorphological evolution of the Pellice river. Polytechnic of Turin and the Province of Turin, Italy, 2001-2004
  • Chairman and Convener of the Ecohydrology sessions of the AGU Spring Meeting 2001 and 2002 and EGU 2004.
  • Scientific Coordinator, Project for real time flood forecasting for Piemonte rivers. Polytechnic of Turin and Piemonte Region, Italy.
  • Primary Investigator, National Research Group for Studies of Turbulence and Vorticity funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific and Technologic Research, MURST. 1996-2000.
  • Scientific Coordinator, Project for the study of a flood forecasting procedure for the Tanaro river, Polytechnic of Turin and City of Alba, Italy. 1996-1997.
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