Ryoko Araki, PhD

I am an incoming Assistant Professor at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in the Department of Natural Resources Management & Environmental Sciences. I obtained PhD in Geography at the Joint Program at UC Santa Barbara & San Diego State University, with a focus in Hydrology. My research broadly examines topics in the areas of catchment hydrology, large-sample hydrology, ecohydrology, water resources, and impacts.

I study and characterize how soil, water, and the environment interact at catchment and landscape scales, and how they drive driving water, energy, and carbon cycles across space and time. To illuminate these patterns, I combine multiple approaches, from field sensing, satellite remote-sensing, numerical models, to computational methods. My work seeks to develop representations that reconcile the observation with current theory, improve Earth and Water System model predictions, and strengthen our capability to forecast water resources availability and natural disasters (flood, drought, and wildfires) under changing climate and land-use.

Outside of my office, I love hiking, camping, and backpacking, and exploring the beauty of natural landscapes. Fittingly, my name in Japanese means wild wood, mountain ridges, and the scent of flowers. I am also a big fan of brewing third-wave coffee. When I’m not outdoors, I enjoy reading books on a wide variety of topics and learning as much as I can about the world around me.