Dr. David Curtis

Interested in learning from his expertise in rainfall and radar-rainfall analysis, the Institute’s Hydrologic Engineering Center, CEIWR-HEC, has asked Dr. David Curtis to research and, if possible, develop methods of incorporating and adapting satellite-based rainfall data for use in HEC applications. The satellite-based rainfall data may be able to provide rainfall data in locations where there is no gauged record. This situation is certainly the case at many international locations.

Dr. Curtis is the Vice President of the WEST Consultants office located in Folsom, California. For the past 34 years, Dr. Curtis has been on the leading edge of flood risk management services. He has been involved in the design, development, and implementation of award-winning innovations in more than 50 automated environmental monitoring systems across the U.S. and in 18 countries abroad. Fault-tolerant designs, dual redundant computer configurations, and integrated networks are among the concepts advanced by Dr. Curtis.

In addition, Dr. Curtis has contributed significantly to the economic analysis of flood warning systems, quantified the communication capacities of ALERT flood warning systems, and developed procedures for designing gauge networks. Recently, Dr. Curtis has been applying new weather information technologies such as radar-rainfall estimates to hydrologic analysis and modeling.

Following a career as a flash flood hydrologist for the National Weather Service, Dr. Curtis co-founded a hydrologic software company specializing in flood warning, which later merged with a manufacturer of hydro-meteorological instrumentation. Internationally recognized as an expert on hydrology, Dr. Curtis has authored more than 70 technical articles and reports. In June 1989, Dr. Curtis accepted the Computerworld/Smithsonian Award for Innovative Uses of Information Technology in the “Energy, Natural Resources, and Environment” category.

Dr. Curtis received his BS from Penn State in 1972, Master’s from the University of Maryland in 1975 and his PhD from MIT in 1982. He is a member of nine professional societies.

More about the Leo R. Beard Visiting Scholar Program