Paul Block
Paul Block, Ph.D., P.E., is an assistant professor in the civil and environmental engineering department at the University of Wisconsin – Madison (UW), specializing in hydroclimatology and water resources management. His research themes are centered on a systems-based approach, bridging models and methods across climate science, hydrology, management, the environment, economics, and policy. Specific areas of expertise include climate risk management, effects of climate variability and change on water systems, hydrologic forecasting and uncertainty, and policies and mechanisms designed to increase reliability and reduce vulnerability. Paul also has affiliations at UW in the Center for Climatic Research, the African Studies Program, and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Sciences. Additionally, he holds an adjunct position at Columbia University’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society.
Paul has worked on Ethiopian-related projects since 2003, including seasonal precipitation and streamflow forecasting, hydropower and irrigation water tradeoffs, agricultural economic modeling, and climate change impacts on the energy sector. He has developed curriculums and conducted numerous trainings on water and climate risk management for Ethiopian water resources managers. He works closely with the Ethiopian National Meteorological Agency, Addis Ababa University, and various international relief agencies working in Ethiopia. He also has numerous publications focusing on climate prediction and water resources management in Ethiopia and the Nile Basin, including, recently, regional effects of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Current and near future-term projects are funded by NASA and NSF.