HydroAI Lab Hosts Visiting Scholar from University of Virginia for Collaborative Drought Research

March 26, 2025

From November to December 2024, the HydroAI Laboratory had the pleasure of hosting Ms. Sophia Bakar, a visiting scholar and PhD candidate in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Virginia. Ms. Bakar’s expertise lies in applying machine learning and deep learning techniques to predict extreme hydrological events, integrating remote sensing with hydrological modeling, and analyzing the effects of drought in a changing climate.

During her visit, Ms. Bakar collaborated closely with Dr. Nguyen Hoang Hai (postdoc) and Ms. Aigerim Bolatbekkyzy (undergraduate master combined student) on a joint research project focused on monitoring and predicting Flash Drought and Global-scale Drought events. This work included advancements in Streamflow Flash Drought prediction using Deep learning techniques. The findings were presented at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2024 Fall Meeting in a poster titled “Application of Deep Learning Methods for Drought Forecasting in the Mississippi River Basin,” co-authored by Professor Hyunglok Kim and Dr. Nguyen Hoang Hai. Additionally, Ms. Bakar co-authored another poster titled “Global-scale Satellite-based Agricultural Drought Monitoring from the Land-Atmosphere Interaction Perspective,” led by Ms. Aigerim Bolatbekkyzy. This poster was also presented at the AGU 2024 Fall Meeting, highlighting the assessment of agricultural drought from the land-atmosphere variables on a global scale.

Ms. Sophia Bakar's contributions underscored the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and advanced analytics in addressing pressing hydrological challenges. The HydroAI Lab looks forward to continuing this productive collaboration in the future.

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