Efi Foufoula-Georgiou, a Distinguished Professor of civil and environmental engineering and Samueli Endowed Chair in engineering at the University of California, Irvine, has been elected an international fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. The announcement was made on September 24, 2026.
Foufoula-Georgiou is one of 75 new fellows elected this year to the Royal Academy of Engineering. This United Kingdom-based institution, established in 1976, provides leadership in engineering and technology and offers independent expert advice to governments. Its fellows, drawn from academic research, industry, and entrepreneurship, number approximately 1,700.
Regarding the recognition, Foufoula-Georgiou stated, "I am deeply honored by this recognition." She further noted her experience leading and participating in international research projects, including with colleagues in the U.K., observing the achievements possible when science crosses borders. She expressed anticipation in drawing on the strengths of both the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and the Royal Academy of Engineering to address shared challenges in water, climate, and environmental resilience.
Foufoula-Georgiou's research focuses on hydrology, hydroclimate science, and geomorphology. Her work has advanced the understanding and prediction of precipitation, water-cycle extremes, and landscape evolution. Her contributions to global satellite precipitation estimation and resilience planning for watersheds and coastal river deltas globally have direct applications to water sustainability and hazard mitigation.
Her public service record includes an appointment by President Barack Obama to the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. In this role, she contributed to reports submitted to Congress concerning the long-term safety of nuclear waste transport and disposal. She has also served on various U.S. National Academies committees, including the Decadal Survey on Earth Observations from Space, and participated in studies on the modernization of the National Weather Service and flood risk management for critical infrastructure. Additionally, she has held advisory positions for NASA, the National Science Foundation, and European research councils.
Foufoula-Georgiou joined UC Irvine in 2016. Prior to her tenure in Irvine, she spent nearly three decades on the faculty at the University of Minnesota, where she directed the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory and the National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics, an NSF Science and Technology Center. At UC Irvine, she served as the associate dean for research and innovation in the Samueli School of Engineering from 2017 to 2023. She also holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Earth System Science.
Her distinguished career is marked by several honors, including the John Dalton Medal of the European Geophysical Society, the Hydrologic Sciences Medal of the American Meteorological Society, the Horton Medal of the American Geophysical Union, and the UNESCO/WMO Dooge Medal, an international hydrology prize. She is also a fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the American Meteorological Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the European Academy of Sciences.
The Royal Academy of Engineering is scheduled to welcome its new fellows at a celebratory event in London on October 19.
