Rezvane Ghorbani, a Ph.D. student in civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech, is making waves in the research world—both literally and figuratively. She was recently honored with two nationally competitive awards recognizing her outstanding research and potential in the field of water resources engineering:

  • Outstanding Student Presentation Award from the American Geophysical Union (AGU)
  • J. Waldo Smith Hydraulic Fellowship from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), which includes a $13,000 award.

Outstanding Student Presentation Award from the American Geophysical Union

Ghorbani earned the AGU award for her poster presentation at the Fall 2024 AGU Annual Meeting. This meeting is the largest annual gathering of geoscientists in the world, with over 25,000 attendees. The Outstanding Student Presentation Award is given to a select few students whose work stands out for scientific quality, clarity, and the ability to engage with questions from judges.

J. Waldo Smith Hydraulic Fellowship from the American Society of Civil Engineers

Ghorbani was also selected as the sole recipient of ASCE’s J. Waldo Smith Hydraulic Fellowship, a prestigious national honor awarded to one graduate student each year who demonstrates exceptional promise in the fields of hydrology or hydraulics. Her application stood out for its academic rigor, research impact, and clear potential to contribute meaningfully to the field. The fellowship funding will support her work during the 2025–26 academic year.

About Her Research

Now in her third year of study, Ghorbani specializes in hydrologic-hydraulic modeling and flood risk assessment under changing climate conditions. Her work blends high-resolution simulations, hybrid modeling approaches, and machine learning to understand and predict flood hazards—and to support the development of community resilience strategies.

Looking Ahead

Ghorbani expects to complete her Ph.D. by the end of 2026. Looking to the future, she aims to continue working at the intersection of research and real-world application, ideally in roles that bridge academia, industry, and public policy. “I am especially interested in roles that bridge academia and industry or policy, where technical research directly informs decision-making and community planning,” she said.