Long Biography
Dr. Houser in an internationally recognized expert in local to global land surface-atmospheric remote sensing, in-situ observation and numerical simulation, development and application of hydrologic data assimilation methods, scientific integrity and policy, and global water and energy cycling. He received his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Hydrology and Water Resources from the University of Arizona in 1992 and 1996 respectively. His dissertation research, titled “Remote Sensing Soil Moisture using Four-Dimensional Data Assimilation” introduced data assimilation into hydrological models, and demonstrated the benefit of including information from soil moisture observations in land-surface energy and water balance simulations. Dr. Houser’s previous experience includes exploration of surface water quality issues at the U.S. Geological Survey, development of landfill cover technology at Los Alamos National Laboratory, study of fracture flow in volcanic tuff near Globe Arizona, hydrometeorological instrumentation design and measurement of surface water and energy fluxes throughout Arizona, and teaching general hydrology, hydrologic field camp, and graduate hydrometeorology seminar classes. Dr. Houser joined the NASA-GSFC Hydrological Sciences Branch and the Data Assimilation Office (DAO/GMAO) in 1997, and served as manager of NASA’s Land Surface Hydrology Program from 1999-2000, and served as branch head of the Hydrological Science Branch from 2000-2005. In 2005, he joined the George Mason University Climate Dynamics Program and the Geography and Geoinformation Sciences Department as Professor of Global Hydrology, and formed CREW (the Center for Research for Environment and Water) with the mission to quantify and predict water cycle and environmental consequences of earth system variability and change through focused research investments in observation, modeling and application. Starting in 2008, Dr. Houser teamed with groundwater development and exploration companies (EarthWater Global and Geovesi) to solve fresh water shortages, where he is responsible for providing satellite- and model-based estimates of water availability. In 2011, Dr. Houser served as Science Advisor to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, where he was responsible for developing the Scientific Integrity, Peer Review, and Data Stewardship policies, as well as coordinating Reclamation activities with other agencies and the broad scientific community. Dr. Houser has led numerous scientific contributions, including the development of Land Data Assimilation Systems (LDAS), the Hydrospheric States Mission (Hydros/SMAP), the Land Information System (LIS), the NASA Energy and Water cycle Study (NEWS), and the Water Cycle Solutions Network (WaterNet). Dr. Houser has published over 100 peer-review publications (4000+ citations, H-Index:33), several book chapters, has been invited to give numerous scientific presentations, has been awarded and supervised tens of millions in research funding, and has supervised hundreds of students and researchers. Dr. Houser’s current research focuses on integrating water cycle research across traditional disciplines in an end-to-end program that transitions theoretical research to academic/public education and real-world application, through partnerships with universities, government, and international agencies.
