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Victor R. Baker is Regents’ Professor of Hydrology and Water Resources, Geosciences, and Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona. He received a B.S. in Geology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1967 and a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Colorado in 1971. After working as a hydrologist and geophysicist for the U.S. Geological Survey in New York and Colorado, he was on the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin from 1971-1981, advancing to the rank of Full Professor. In 1981 he moved to the Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, first a Full Professor, and then in 1988 as one of The University of Arizona's first Regents' Professors. From 1996-2004 he was the Department Head of the Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona.
Baker has authored or co-authored more than 1000 scientific contributions, including 18 books, 400 research articles and chapters, more than 485 abstracts and short research reports (nearly all of them associated with papers that were presented at professional meetings, conferences, and workshops), 34 extended technical reports; 42 encyclopedia articles; 39 published book reviews; plus guidebook contributions and various other writings, including popular works in science. His research has concerned paleoflood hydrology (a field of study that he defined in the 1970s and 1980s); flood geomorphology; channels, valleys, and geomorphic features on Mars and Venus; catastrophic Pleistocene megaflooding in the northwestern U.S. and central Asia; history/philosophy of Earth and planetary sciences; and the interface of environmental science with public policy. Professor Baker has been President of the Geological Society of America (1998), Chair of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Section on Geology and Geography (1992-93 and 2008-2009), and President of the International Union for Quaternary Research Commission on Global Continental Paleohydrology (1995-99). Among his honors are Foreign Membership in the Polish Academy of Sciences (1994); Honorary Fellowship in the European Union of Geosciences (1999); the David Linton Award of the British Society for Geomorphology (1995); the Distinguished Scientist Award (2002) and Distinguished Career Award (2010), both from The Geological Society of America Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology Division; the Inaugural International Lectureship of the Geological Society of America (2012-2013), a Fulbright-Hays Senior Research Fellowship (1979-1880); an Indo-American Fellowship (1987-1988); and professional society Fellowships respectively in the American Geophysical Union, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, The Geological Society of America, and the British Society for Geomorphology. His work on megafloods has been featured in multiple television documentaries for PBS, BBC, and the National Geographic, Discovery and History Channels, including the 2005 NOVA production “Mystery of the Megaflood.”
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Dr. Masoud Irannezhad is working as an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering (Water Resources) at the Australian University-Kuwait in Kuwait and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oulu in Finland, where he received his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering (Water Resources) in Dec 2015. He was a Research Associate at the Portland State University (USA) in 2016-2017 and a Research Assistant Professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology (China) in 2018-2020. Dr. Irannezhad is a contributing author to the AR6, IPCC 2022, WG II, Chapter 4, Water as well as a Young Career Researcher Editorial Board Member of the Hydrology Research journal. His research focuses on atmosphere-climate- & water interactions. Dr. Irannezhad has published 40 peer-reviewed journal papers, which have been cited 952 times. Based on his publication in Science, Dr. Irannezhad is currently doing research on different climate drivers, hydrological implications, and environmental sustainability risks of future snow droughts in Fenno-Scandinavia.
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Alireza is currently Associate Professor and head of International Cooperation and Development and Community relations of the Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment. In 2019, he was chosen as TOP RESEARCHER of the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.
He hold his BSc in “Natural Resource Engineering-Rangeland and Watershed Management” from the Sistan and Baluchestan University, Iran in 2000. He started three years of work in the Forests, Range and Watershed Management department of Sistan and Baluchestan province where he had many field experiences about combat desertification, wind erosion control and sand and dust storms mitigation. His MSc was in Watershed Management from the Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Gorgan in 2005. He started his research career in the Sistan Agricultural and natural resources research centre and worked there (from 2004-2009) as a researcher and head of Natural resources section. His main research topics were on sand and dust storms. He received a Prize in 2005 as the top national researcher from the Research Institute of Forests and rangelands of Iran. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Pretoria, South Africa with Prof. Hannes Rautenbach, Prof. Patrick Eriksson and Dr. Dimitris Kaskaoutis. His PhD covered the study theme of Geoinformatics, encompassing sand and dust storms, desertification and remote sensing in southeast Iran (Sistan) dustiest place in south-west Asia. After that, He followed a year’s post-doctoral studies at the University of Pretoria at the department of Geology. Then he returned to Iran, where he has been teaching and researching at the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Therefore, he has several years of University-level teaching, researching experience and field works, specifically on the following topics: (i) sand and dust storms (ii) wind erosion and its control, (iii), assessment of land potential, (iii) desertification and its control, (iv) Remote sensing and GIS in changes of Environments. In 2017-2019, He was developer and lecturer of an International MSc Educational Program in Environmental Management and Modelling (GeoNetC) funded by Erasmus+ (European Commission). He also possesses experience in using the relevant computer ware, particularly RS and GIS software, Goggle Earth Engine (GEE), R, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Images processing to assist academic activities within these fields. As a University Teacher, he has actively supervised 5 PhD and 27 MSc students.
His research areas are on sand/dust, aeolian sediments and RS & GIS in changes of environments. For someone who only completed his PhD in 2012, has an impressive international publication record, 53 reviewed publications in scientific journals. 2 book chapters in internationally published volumes, 53 peer-reviewed papers (41 Scopus documents), H factor = 21, Total citations ~1400. Many of his works have been published in relatively high impact international journals.
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Masoud Mirzaei studied Inorganic Chemistry at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM), where is currently working as a distinguished professor. His interdisciplinary research is at the interface of inorganic chemistry and materials science. His works focus on the fundamental science and applications of metal cluster-based complexes and materials such as polyoxometalates (POMs) and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Their prospective uses include medical, energy, and environmental applications. His laboratory in FUM creates polyoxometalate-based frameworks, by using covalent and non-covalent interactions in creating open framework materials for specific applications like gas storage and separation, drug detection, and catalysis. He has published more than 200 ISI cited papers, including reviews and two books with Elsevier and Royal Society of Chemistry.
He is currently the Chancellor of Khorasan Science and Technology Park (KSTP) whose mission is to help talents flourish and find solutions to real life problems by developing science-based firms. Also, he has been the Chairman of Zeolite and Porous Materials Committee of the Iranian Chemical Society since 2017 and served as the Associate Editor of Inorganic Chemistry Research, a monthly open access journal published by the Iranian Chemical Society. He has received funds and awards for research and leadership from Iran National Science Foundation (INSF), Iran Science Elites Federation (ISEF), and the Academy of Sciences of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 2021 and 2023, Professor Mirzaei was ranked among top 1% International Scientists by ESI (Web of Science). He served as Editorial Board member of Polyhedron.
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