Dalton Medal honors Princeton engineer for ecohydrology work

Photo of award recipient — Amilcare Porporato, the Thomas J. Wu '94 Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and professor of civil and environmental engineering and the Princeton Environmental Institute. Photo by David Kelly Crow

The European Geophysical Union has awarded the 2020 John Dalton Medal to Amilcare Porporato, the Thomas J. Wu ’94 Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and professor of civil and environmental engineering and the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI).

The Dalton Medal is awarded annually for achievement in hydrology research. Porporato, who is director of the PEI’s Water and Environment Challenge, was recognized for fundamental contribution in ecohydrology and for advancing the understanding of complex interactions among soil, plants and the atmosphere.

Photo of recipient Porporato joined the Princeton faculty in 2017 after working as a professor at Duke, where he continues to serve as an adjunct. He received his MS and Ph.D. from the Polytechnic University of Turin. Among other honors, he is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the recipient of Union’s Hydrological Sciences Award and delivered the 2015 Borland Lecture in Hydrology.

Recipients of the 2020 European Geophysical Union awards are scheduled to receive their medals at the Union’s 2020 general assembly, which will take place in Vienna May 3-8.