European Geosciences Union Recognizes AghaKouchak with Plinius Medal

Nov. 12, 2025 - The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is awarding its 2026 Plinius Medal to UC Irvine Chancellor’s Professor Amir AghaKouchak for his "fundamental contributions to understanding hydrologic extremes and compound hazards."

AghaKouchak is a faculty member in civil and environmental engineering and director of the UCI Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing (CHRS). He is internationally recognized for advancing science at the intersection of hydrology, climate, stochastic modeling and remote sensing, with a strong emphasis on real-world risk reduction and societal impact. He has been a field-defining voice on compound and cascading hazards, showing how interacting drivers amplify risk and how impacts propagate through communities and critical infrastructure. His research blends methodological innovation with practical frameworks that agencies and engineers can use to assess and mitigate risk.

“I am humbled and honored by this recognition from EGU,” said AghaKouchak. “None of this would have been possible without the exceptional students, postdocs and colleagues I have had the privilege to work with. Their curiosity, rigor and teamwork drive everything we do, from advancing fundamental science to creating data and tools,”

Recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher, AghaKouchak has authored or coauthored over 270 peer-reviewed papers in such prestigious publications as Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Science Advances, Reviews of Geophysics and Nature Climate Change. His contributions have earned him multiple awards and accolades, including the AGU Macelwane Medal, ASCE Huber Prize, AGU Hydrologic Sciences Early Career Award, ASCE Norman Medal, AMS Robert Horton Lecture in Hydrology, and the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) Early Career Scientist Award.

The Plinius Medal is awarded by EGU’s Natural Hazards Division to a scientist with outstanding interdisciplinary contributions in natural hazards research. The EGU is a nonprofit international union of scientists with about 19,500 members from all over the world.

UCI’s CHRS develops advanced methods for observing and modeling hydrometeorological hazards, translating research into data products (e.g., remotely sensed precipitation) and guidance that support preparedness and risk reduction for agencies, utilities and communities.

– Lori Brandt