Jay Famiglietti
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Walton Center for Planetary Health 777 E University Drive, 592F Tempe, AZ 85281
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Mail code: 7904Campus: Tempe
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Jay Famiglietti is a Global Futures Professor in ASU's School of Sustainability, where he serves as the Director of Science for the Arizona Water Innovation Initiative. He also holds affiliated faculty appointments in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, and in the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems. He is Professor Emeritus from the University of Saskatchewan, where he was Executive Director of the Global Institute for Water Security, and where he held the Canada 150 Research Chair in Hydrology and Remote Sensing. He was the founding Chief Scientist of the Silicon Valley Y-Combinator tech startup, Waterplan. Before moving to USask, he served as the Senior Water Scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology. From 2013 through 2018, he was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the California State Water Boards in the Santa Ana and Los Angeles regions.
From 2001 to 2016, Famiglietti was a professor of Earth System Science and of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Irvine, where he was the Founding Director of the UC Center for Hydrologic Modeling. Before joining UCI in 2001, he was on the faculty of the Geological Sciences Department at the University of Texas at Austin, where he helped launch the program in climate and the UT Environmental Science Institute.
Famiglietti and his research team use satellites to track changing water availability around the world. They pioneered the methods to detect groundwater depletion from space using the NASA GRACE mission. They have been working for many years towards improving hydrological prediction in climate models like those used in the IPCC. This work has driven Famiglietti's interest in global groundwater sustainability, the food-water nexus, corporate water sustainability and stewardship, innovations in financial tools and data-driven reporting platforms, and international water diplomacy.
He is a former Chair of the Board of the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI), a former Editor-in-Chief of Geophysical Research Letters, and he has been a Visiting Professor at in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University and UCLA. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and of the Geological Society of America, a recipient of AGU's Peter S. Eagleson Hydrologic Sciences Award, and a Distinguished Alumni of Tufts University.
Prof. Famiglietti is committed to science communication. He is regular advisor to state, provincial, U. S., Canadian and world leaders on regional and global water issues, he appears as a featured expert in television and film, and he created and hosted the podcast "What About Water? with Jay Famiglietti". He and his research group have published numerous papers and reports, and their work has been featured in major international news media.
B.S., Geology, Tufts University
M.S., Hydrology and Water Resources Administration, University of Arizona
M.A., Civil Engineering and Operations Research, Princeton University
Ph.D, Civil Engineering and Operations Research, Princeton University
Postdoctoral, Civil Engineering and Operations Research, Princeton University
Postdoctoral, Climate and Global Dynamics Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research
Analysis and remote sensing of the regional and global water cycles and how they are being impacted by climate change
GRACE/FO applications to hydrology, including global water assessment, groundwater storage changes, changing freshwater availability, and land contributions to sea level rise
Global groundwater sustainability and social-ecological systems
Global water risk dynamics
Investor-driven corporate water stewardship
International water diplomacy
Karem Abdelmohsen, Postdoctoral Research Scholar, School of Sustainability
Sara Alqamshoaui, Ph.D. candidate, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
Zoe Ao, Postdoctoral Research Scholar, School of Sustainability
Valerie Bednarski, MSFS candidate, School of Sustainability
Aura Hopper, Administrative Specialist, Global Futures Laboratory
Fengwei Hung, Research Scientist, School of Sustainability
Elizaveta Litvak, Research Professor, School of Sustainability
Lilian Lunyolo, Ph.D. candidate, School of Sustainability
Behshad Mohajer, Ph.D. candidate, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
Md. Rayhan, Ph.D. candidate, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
Yuan Qiu, Research Scientist, University of Arizona
Peer-reviewed
Huo, F., L. Xu, Z. Li, J. S. Famiglietti, J. and H. Chandanpurkar, 2024, Can climate change signals be detected from the terrestrial water storage at daily timescale?. npj Clim Atmos Sci 7, 158. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-024-00646-w
Rohde, M. M.,...J. S. Famiglietti,...and 21 others, 2024, Mapping groundwater-dependent ecosystems globally exposes protection needs, Nature, 632, 101-107. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07702-8
Porkka, M., ,,,J. S. Famiglietti, ...and 20 others, 2024, Streamflow and soil moisture shift far beyond pre-industrial conditions globally– planetary boundary for freshwater change transgressed. Nat Water. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-024-00208-7
Xu, L., J. S. Famiglietti, D. Ferris, X. Huggins, J. S. Wong, C. Mohan, S. Sadri, H. A. Chandanpurkar, and P. Sanyal, 2023, From course resolution to practical solution, GRACE as a science communication and policy making tool for sustainable groundwater management, J. Hydrol., 623, 129845.
Huggins, X., T. Gleeson, J. Castilla-Rho, C. Holley, V. Re, and J. S. Famiglietti, 2023, Groundwater connections and sustainability in social-ecological systems, https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.13305, Groundwater
Mohan, C., T. Gleeson, T. Forstner, J. S. Famiglietti, and I. de Graf, 2023, Quantifying groundwater’s contribution to regional environmental flows in diverse hydrologic landscapes, Wat. Resour. Res., 59 (6), https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR033153
Scanlon, B, S, Fakhreddine, A. Rateb, I. deGraaf, J. S. Famiglietti, T. Gleeson, R. Q. Grafton, E. Jobbagy, S. Kebede, S. R. Kolusu, L. F. Konikow, D. Long, M. Mekonnen, H. M. Schmied, A. Mukherjee, A. MacDonald, R. C. Reedy, M. Shamsudduha, C. T. Simmons, A. Sun, R. G. Taylor, K. G. Villhoth, C. J. Vorosmarty, and C. Zheng, 2023, Global water resources and the role of groundwater in a resilient water future, Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, 4, 87-101
Xu, L., and J. S. Famiglietti, 2023, Global patterns of water-driven human migration, WIREs Water, https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1647
Xu, L., D. Ferris, X. Huggins, Xander, J. Wong, C. Mohan, S. Sadri, H. Chandanpurkar, P. Sanyal, and J. Famiglietti, 2023, From coarse resolution to practical solution: GRACE as a science communication and policymaking tool for sustainable groundwater management. Journal of Hydrology. 623. 129845. 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.129845.
Adams, K. H., J T. Reager, P. Rosen, D. Wiese, T. Farr, S. Rao, B. Haines, D. Argus, Z. Liu, R. Smith, J. Famiglietti and M. Rodell, 2022, Remote sensing of groundwater: Current capabilities and future directions, Wat. Resour. Res., https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR032219
Liu. P.-W., J. S. Famiglietti, J., A. J. Purdy, K. H. Kim, A. L McEvoy, J. T. Reager, R. Bindlish, D. N. Wiese, C. H. David and M. Rodell, 2022, Groundwater depletion in California’s Central Valley accelerates during megadrought, Nat Commun. 13, 7825. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-35582-x
Huggins, X., T. Gleeson, M. Kummu, S.C. Zipper, Y. Wada, T. J. Troy and J. S. Famiglietti, 2022, Hostpots for social and ecological impacts from freshwater stress and storage loss, Nat Commun., 13 (1), 439, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28029-w
Razavi, S., D. M. Hannah, A. Elshorbagy, S. Kumar, L. Marshall, D. P. Solomatine, A. Dezfuli, M. Sadegh and J. S. Famiglietti, 2022, Coevolution of machine learning and process-based modelling to revolutionize Earth and environmental sciences: A perspective, Hydrol. Proc., 36(6), e14596.
Sadri, S., J. S. Famiglietti, M. Pan, H. Beck, A. Berg and E. F. Wood, 2022, FarmCan: Developing A physical, statistical, and machine learning model to forecast crop water deficit at farm scales, Hydrol. Earth Sys. Sci., 6 (20), 5373–5390, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5373-2022
Famiglietti, J. S. and G. Ferguson, 2021, The hidden crisis beneath our feet, Science, 372(6540), 344-345, https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abh2867
Chandanpurkar, H. A., J. T. Reager, J. S. Famiglietti, J. S., R. S. Nerem, D. P. Chambers, M.-H. Lo, B. D. Hamlington and T. H. Syed, 2021, The seasonality of global land and ocean mass and the changing water cycle, Geophys. Res. Lett, 48(7), e2020GL091248, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091248
Erlingis, J. M., M. Rodell, C. D. Peters-Lidard, B. Li, S. V. Kumar, J. S. Famiglietti, S. L. Granger, P.-W. Liu, D. M. Mocko, 2021, A high-resolution land data assimilation system optimized for the western United States, J. Amer. Wat. Resour. Assoc., 57, 10.1111/1752-1688.12910, https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.12910
Gleeson, T., L. Wang-Erlandsson, S. C. Zipper, M. Porkka, F. Jaramillo, D. Gerten, I. Fetzer, S. E. Cornell, L. Piemontese, L. J Gordon, J. Rockström, T. Oki, M. Sivapalan, Y. Wada, K. A. Brauman, M. Flörke, M. F. P. Bierkens, B. Lehner, P. Keys, M. Kummu, T. Wagener, S. Dadson, T. J. Troy, W. Steffen, M. Falkenmark, J. S. Famiglietti, 2020, The water planetary boundary: interrogation and revision, One Earth 2 (3), 223-234
Wu, W.-Y, M.-H. Lo, Y. Wada, J. S. Famiglietti, J. T. Reager, P. Yeh, A. Ducharne and Z.-L. Yang, 2020, Divergent effects of climate change on future groundwater availability in key midlatitude aquifers, Nature Communications 11, 3710, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17581-y
Sadri, S., M. Pan, Y. Wada, N. Vergopolan, J. Sheffield, J. S. Famiglietti, Y. Kerr, E. Wood, 2020, A global near-real-time soil moisture index monitor for food security using integrated SMOS and SMAP, Remote Sensing of Environment, 246, 111864, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2020.111864
Massoud, E. C., A. J. Purdy, M. Miro, J. S. Famiglietti, 2018, Projecting groundwater storage changes in California's Central Valley, Scientific Reports 8,12917, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-31210-1
Miro, M. and J. S. Famiglietti, 2018, A framework for quantifying sustainable yield under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), Sust. Wat. Resour. Manage, 5(3), 1165-1177, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-018-0283-z
Rodell, M., J. S. Famiglietti, D. Wiese, J. T. Reager, F. Landerer and M.-H. Lo, 2018, Emerging Trends in Global Freshwater Availability, Nature, 557, 651–659, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0123-1
Richey, A. S., B. F. Thomas, M.-H. Lo, J. T. Reager, K. A. Voss, M. Rodell and J. S. Famiglietti, 2015, Quantifying renewable groundwater stress with GRACE, Water Resour. Res., 51(7) 5217-5238, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR017349
Richey, A. S., B. F. Thomas, M.-H. Lo and J. S. Famiglietti, 2015, Uncertainty in Global Groundwater Storage Estimates in a Total Groundwater Stress Framework, Water Resour. Res., 51(7), 5198-5216, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR017351
Famiglietti, J. S., 2014, The global groundwater crisis, Nature Climate Change, 4, 945-948, https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2425
Castle, S., B. F. Thomas, J. T. Reager, S. C. Swenson, M. Rodell, and J. S. Famiglietti, 2014, Groundwater Depletion During Drought Threatens Future Water Security of the Colorado River Basin, Geophys. Res. Lett., 41, 5904–5911, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL061055
Voss, K. A., J. S. Famiglietti, M. Lo, C. R. de Linage, M. Rodell and S. C. Swenson, 2013, Groundwater depletion in the Middle East from GRACE with Implications for Transboundary Water Management in the Tigris-Euphrates-Western Iran Region, Wat. Resour. Res., 49(2), 904-914, https://doi.org/10.1002/wrcr.20078
Famiglietti, J. S., M. Lo, S. L. Ho, K. J. Anderson, J. Bethune, T. H. Syed, S. C. Swenson, C. R. de Linage and M. Rodell, 2011, Satellites Measure Recent Rates of Groundwater Depletion in California’s Central Valley, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L03403, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010GL046442
Rodell, M., I. Velicogna and J. Famiglietti, 2009, Satellite-based estimates of groundwater depletion in India, Nature, 460, 999-1002, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08238
Courses
2025 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| CEE 792 | Research |
| CEE 795 | Continuing Registration |
| CEE 792 | Research |
| SOS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| SOS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| SFS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| SFS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| SOS 594 | Conference and Workshop |
| SOS 594 | Conference and Workshop |
2024 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| CEE 792 | Research |
| CEE 795 | Continuing Registration |
| SOS 589 | Community of Scholars |
| SOS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| SOS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| SOS 594 | Conference and Workshop |
| SOS 594 | Conference and Workshop |
| SFS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| SFS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
2024 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| CEE 795 | Continuing Registration |
| SOS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| SOS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| SFS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| SFS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| SOS 594 | Conference and Workshop |
| SOS 594 | Conference and Workshop |
2023 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| CEE 792 | Research |
| SOS 589 | Community of Scholars |
| SOS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| SOS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| SOS 594 | Conference and Workshop |
| SOS 594 | Conference and Workshop |
| SFS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| SFS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
2023 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SOS 494 | Special Topics |
| SOS 598 | Special Topics |
Boussinesq Lecture, Boussinesq Center for Hydrology, Amsterdam, 2023
Web of Science, Highly-Cited Researcher, 2019-2022
Peter S. Eagleson Hydrologic Sciences Award, American Geophysical Union, 2020
Distinguished Achievement Alumni Award, Tufts University, 2019
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Invitational Fellowship for Research in Japan, 2019
Centennial Keynote, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, 2018, 2019
Canada 150 Research Chair in Hydrology and Remote Sensing, 2018-2022
Principal Scientist, Earth Science Division, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 2017
Global Environmental Change Special Lecture, Global Environmental Change Section, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, 2015
Fellow, Geological Society of America, 2014
David Keith Todd Distinguished Lecturer, Groundwater Resources Association of California, 2014
Fellow, American Geophyscial Union, 2012
Birdsall-Dreiss Distinguished Lecturer, Geological Society of America, 2012
Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education, University of California, Irvine, 2005
NASA New Investigator Award, 1996
Editor-in-Chief, Geophysical Research Letters, 2005-2009
Editor, Hydrology and Land Surface Processes, Geophysical Research Letters, 2001-2004
Associate Editor, Water Resources Research, 1997-2001
Guest Editor, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2014, 2021
American Geophyscial Union
European Geosciences Union
Geological Society of America
University of Saskatchewan, Canada 150 Research Chair in Hydrology and Remote Sensing; Global Institute for Water Security, Executive Director; School of Environment and Sustainability, Professor, 2018-2022
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Earth Sciences Section, Senior Water Scientist, 2014-2018; Terrestrial Hydrology, Group Supervisor, 2015-2018; Western Water Applications Office, Founding Chief Scientist, 2016-2018
University of California, Irvine, Department of Earth System Science, Associate and Full Professor, 2001-2016; Vice-Chair for Graduate Studies, 2003-2006; Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Director, 2008-2009; UC Center for Hydrologic Modeling, Founding Director, 2009-2014
University of Texas at Austin, Department of Geological Sciences, Assistant and Associate Professor, 1994-2001; Environmental Science Institute, Founding Associate Director, 2001
Boards
Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, External Science Advisory Group, 2020-present; Chair, 2023-present
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, 2017-2023
Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences, Inc. (CUAHSI), Chair, Board of Directors, 2008-2010; Executive Committee, Board of Directors, 2005-2010; Board of Directors, 2011
Committees and Task Forces
American Geophysical Union, Hydrological Sciences Award Committee, 2022-2024
American Geophysical Union, Bowie Medal Committee, 2022-2025
American Geophysical Union, Hydrology Section, Task Force on Future Awards and Honors, 2021-2022
American Geophysical Union, Hydrology Section, Hydrology, Task Force on Strategic Communications, Chair, 2017
American Geophysical Union, Hydrology Seccion, Fall Meeting Program Chair, 2004
American Geophysical Union, Hydrology Seccion, Hydrology Executive Committee, 2001-2009
American Geophysical Union, Hydrology Section, Remote Sensing Committee, Co-Chair, 2000-2003
American Geophysical Union, Hydrology Section, Remote Sensing Committee, Member, 1996-present
World Bank, Global Water Monitoring Report, 2022-present
Founding Chief Scientist, Waterplan, 2022
National Geographic, Global Water Availability Report, 2021-2022
Ceres, Global Assessment of Private Sector Impacts on Water Report, 2020-2022