08/2025 [Publication] In collaboration with Dillon Huss, an undergraduate student at UMD, and Gustavo Merten, we evaluated the thermal mitigation effect of bioinfiltration on urban stormwater runoff via field monitoring. Check it out using this link: https://doi.org/10.1061/JSWBAY.SWENG-666.
05/2025 [Conference] Amit and Zihang presented their works at the HydroML 2025 Symposium.
05/2025 [Funding] Our group received a grant from the Water Research Foundation (WRF) to conduct a three-year research project "Leveraging Deep Learning for Actively Controlled Nature-based Solutions: Enhancing River Flow Regime Restoration and Contaminant Removal". The project aims to combine data-driven sparse sensing with deep learning models to optimize and control a green stormwater infrastructure for flow control.
04/2025 [Publication] In collaboration with Wasif Bin Mamoon, Mitul Luhar, and Anthony Parolari, we develop a framework that estimates stream nutrient loads and time series from minimal measurements by leveraging available flow data in the region. The framework also provides guidance on optimal sampling times and locations. Check it out using this link: https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL114935.
01/2025 [Publication] The work by myself and colleagues in Hong Kong (Dr. Peng Huang, and Dr. Ting Fong May Chui) entitled "Hydrologic performance of permeable pavements under extreme and regular rainfall conditions" is now online in Journal of Hydrology. This work documents part of our monitoring work conducted in Hong Kong. Check it out using this link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.132653.
12/2024 [Conference] Kun co-chaired a session on urban eco-hydrology and gave a poster presentation at the 2024 AGU Fall Meeting about the preliminary works on the NSF project.
10/2024 [Conference & Award] Dillon gave a poster presentation about our stormwater monitoring project in 2024 Minnesota Water Resources Conference at St. Paul, MN. and he won the best student poster presentation award. Congrats to Dillon, way to go!
08/2024 [New Member] Welcome new M.S. student Imran Md. Azizul Islam. Imran’s research will focus on studying the impact of soil profiles on urban water balances. Outside of research, he likes singing, watching movies, and sitcoms. He also loves programming and building beautiful software and watching soccer and cricket matches of his favorite teams.
08/2024 [New Member] Welcome new Ph.D. student Zihang Ding. Zihang’s primary research focus involves integrating urban hydrologic & hydraulic models with data-driven analytics to solve contemporary urban stormwater management problems. Outside of research, he enjoys listening to music and watching both movies and anime.
07/2024 [New Member] Welcome new Post-doc fellow Amit Kumar. As a hydro-meteorologist, Amit focuses on the impact of climate and anthropogenic changes on water resources. His research involves integrating remote sensing data, climate models output, and hydrological datasets using physics-based hydrological models and machine learning techniques to provide comprehensive insights into these critical issues.
05/2024 [Publication] The work by myself and Dr. Ting Fong May Chui entitled "Spatial allocation of bioretention cells considering interaction with shallow groundwater: A simulation-optimization approach" is now online in Science of the Total Environment. This work documents part of my Ph.D. work in watershed-scale green infrastructure modeling. Check it out using this link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173369.
04/2024 [Funding] Congratulations on Zihang in receiving a grant from the Minnesota Water Resources Center through the Watershed Innovations (WINS) Grant Program (funding source: USGS) to work on data-driven flooding prediction!
04/2024 [Presentation] Austin Konrath presented his UROP research project in the UMD SCSE Undergraduate Research and Artistic Showcase. Good job!
03/2024 [Funding] Our group received a grant from the National Science Foundation (CBET) to conduct a two-year research project "Effects of urban water infrastructure and proximate soil profiles on coupled surface-subsurface hydrology". The project aims to investigate inflow & infiltration and its impact on urban hydrology [Award# 2347541]
01/2024 [Publication] The work by Duyen entitled "Soil, climate, and landscape drivers of base cation concentrations in green stormwater infrastructure soils" is now online in Science of the Total Environment. This work documents extensive soil sampling in urban green infrastructure and informs base cation dynamics in urban watersheds. Check it out using this link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.169907
10/2023 [Conference] I was at the Minnesota Water Resources Conference for the first time. Very nice conference, glad to meet so many great practitioners in the area. This is a photo with Jefferson, a passionate hydrologist.
08/2023 [Special Issue] I work with Yang Yang and Gustavo Merten on a special issue in the journal MDPI Water (ISSN 2073-4441) entitled "Optimizing green infrastructure design and placement for integrated urban watershed management". The issue is accepting submissions until 31 March 2024. We welcome your submission! Check it out here.
07/2023 [Award] I am selected as a Dr. Howard Higholt Endowed Professor by the Swenson College of Science and Engineering at UMD to support my continued professional development and contribution to building a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive community.
05/2023 Congratulations for the Senior Design team (Cascade Trail Restoration project with Skagit County; Elijah Kauffman, Megan Martindale, Ryan McGeary, and Alejandro Robles) on presenting the work to the commissioner and on the Project Day.
03/2023 [Publication] Our paper entitled "The role of inflow and infiltration (I/I) in urban water balances and streamflow regimes: A hydrograph analysis along the sewershed-watershed continuum" is now online in Water Resources Research. Check it out using this link: https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR032529
03/2023 [Publication] Our paper entitled "Streamflow prediction in ungauged watersheds in the United States through data-driven sparse sensing" was accepted for publication in Water Resources Research. Check it out using this link: https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR034092
03/2023 [Publication] Our paper entitled "Effects of Regional Climate and BMP Type on Stormwater Nutrient Concentrations in BMPs: A Meta-Analysis" was published in Environmental Science and Technology. Check it out using this link: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.2c05942
02/2023 [Field Trip] I held the first field trip (Jan Road Levee Replacement Project, Cedar River, Seattle, WA) in my life in the Applied Hydraulics class.
01/2023 [Publication] Our paper entitled "Reconstruction of Sparse Stream Flow and Concentration Time‐Series Through Compressed Sensing" was published in Geophysical Research Letters. Check it out using this link: https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL101177
02/2023 [Funding] We obtained a sub-award ($83,066) from Marquette University, "New technologies to mitigate water contamination for resilient infrastructure" funded by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Research and Development Center (ERDC).
01/2023 [Funding] Our WaterCARE project, "Phase II: Data- and model-driven evaluation of green infrastructure performance benefits in the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District” by Anthony Parolari (PI), Kun Zhang (Co-PI), Mason Throneberg (Co-PI), has been selected for funding by Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewer District (MMSD), $100,000, for the period of 01/2023 – 12/2023.
01/2023 [New Endeavor] I started my new position as an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Seattle University.
12/2022 [Conference] The Parolari Ecohydrology group joined the AGU Fall Meeting 2022 in Chicago, IL. I gave a presentation entitled "Streamflow prediction in ungauged watersheds in the United States through data-driven sparse sensing" in the conference.
05/2022 [Publication] Our paper titled "Impact of stormwater infiltration on rainfall-derived inflow and infiltration: A physically based surface-subsurface urban hydrologic model" was accepted for publication in Journal of Hydrology. Check it out using this link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.127938
12/2022 [Teaching] I finished teaching my first independent course (Urban Hydrology and Stormwater Management) at Marquette University.
04/2022 [Volunteering] I've joined the Thriving Earth Exchange program by AGU as a community science fellow. I'm working with the Vernon County, WI on a project to solve the flooding issue in agricultural lands. Check out the project here: Thriving Earth Exchange-Vernon County, WI
03/2022 [Publication] Our paper titled "Implementing underdrained permeable pavement for runoff reduction in shallow groundwater environment: Is it worthwhile?" was accepted for publication in Journal of Hydrologic Engineering. Check it out using this link: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0002181
12/2021 [Conference] I gave an oral presentation entitled "Modeling and analysis of rainfall-derived inflow and infiltration: A hidden urban hydrologic process" in AGU Fall Meeting 2021.
06/2021 [Conference] I gave an oral presentation titled "Evaluating the impact of green infrastructure on private property inflow and infiltration through process-based hydrologic modeling" in EWRI 2021 Congress.
10/2020 [Publication] Our paper titled "Design measures to mitigate the impact of shallow groundwater on hydrologic performance of permeable pavements" was accepted for publication in Hydrological Processes. Check it out using this link: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13935
8/2020 [New Endeavor] I joined the research group of Dr. Anthony Parolari at Marquette University as a postdoctoral researcher. Check out the group webpage: http://www.aphydro.com/
3/2020 [Publication] Our paper titled "Assessing the impact of spatial allocation of bioretention cells on shallow groundwater - an integrated surface-subsurface catchment-scale analysis with SWMM-MODFLOW" was accepted for publication in Journal of Hydrology. Check it out using this link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.124910
12/2019 [Conference] I gave a poster presentation titled "The location choice of green infrastructures and their hydrologic effects in shallow groundwater environments" in the AGU 2020 Fall Meeting (San Francisco, CA, US).
9/2019 [Publication] Our paper titled "A review on implementing infiltration-based green infrastructure in shallow groundwater environments: Challenges, approaches, and progress" was accepted for publication in Journal of Hydrology. Check it out using this link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.124089
11/2019 [Conference] I gave an oral presentation titled "Experimental Investigation on Hydrologic Performance of Porous Pavement in Shallow Groundwater " in the IWA-ASPIRE 2019 Conference (Hong Kong).
05/2019 [Conference] I gave a poster presentation titled "Landscape metrics as indicators to evaluate the linkage between spatial allocation of green infrastructure and surface-subsurface hydrology" in the EWRI 2019 Congress (Pittsburgh, PI, US).
11/2018 [Conference] I gave an invited talk at the 2018 Symposium on Water, Feedbacks, and Complexity (Seoul, South Korea).
11/2018 [Publication] Our paper titled "Simulating the hydrologic performance of LID practices in shallow groundwater via a modified SWMM" was accepted for publication in Journal of Hydrology. Check it out using this link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.09.006
08/2018 [Publication] Our paper titled "Interactions between shallow groundwater and LID underdrain flow at different temporal scales" was accepted for publication in Hydrological Processes. Check it out using this link: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13272
07/2018 [Publication] Our paper titled "Linking hydrological and bioecological benefits of green infrastructure across spatial scales – a literature review" was accepted for publication in Science of the Total Environment. Check it out using this link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.355
04/2018 [Award] I received the Seasonal champion of Research Seminar Series from New College of The University of Hong Kong.
12/2017 [Publication] Our paper titled "A comprehensive review of spatial allocation of LID-BMP-GI practices: Strategies and optimization tools" was accepted for publication in Science of the Total Environment. Check it out using this link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.11.281
12/2017 [Conference] The May Group joined the 2017 AGU Fall Meeting in New Orleans, LA. I gave an oral presentation at the conference.
04/2017 [Publication] Our paper titled "Evaluating hydrologic performance of bioretention cells in shallow groundwater" was accepted for publication in Hydrological Processes. Check it out using this link: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.11308
04/2016 [Publication] Our paper titled "Discussion about initial runoff and volume capture ratio of annual rainfall" was accepted for publication in Water Science and Technology. Check it out using this link: doi.org/10.2166/wst.2016.307
12/2015 [Conference] I gave an oral presentation at the IWA-ASPIRE Conference (Beijing, China).
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