About Me
Key qualification
- Scientist and educator with 30 years of experience in research, education, and project and human resources management
- Expertise in spatial hydrology, earth observation, water cycle and climate, land-atmosphere interaction, and water resources management
Professor Bob Su holds the Chair of Spatial Hydrology and Water Resources Management, and previously served for 15 years as Chairman of Department of Water Resources in Faculty of Geo-Information and Earth Observation (ITC) of University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands. Bob Su is a recognized international expert in land-atmosphere processes and interactions and earth observation of water cycle. His research covers remote sensing and numerical modeling of land-atmosphere processes and land–atmosphere interactions, earth observation of water cycle and applications in climate, ecosystem and water resources studies, as well as monitoring food security and water-related disasters. He has coordinated and participated in numerous international projects and experiments and served as committee member of various science communities. His current research focuses on integrated water, energy and carbon processes in the water-soil-plant-atmosphere pathway as a component of earth system model, modelling microwave signature of land surface and retrieval of soil moisture and vegetation properties, and developing data driven machine learning algorithms for digital twin earth.
Expertise
Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), Department of Water Resources (WRS)Ancillary Activities
-
Committee on Space Research (COSPAR)
COSPAR Panel Capacity Building -
World Climate Research Programme
WCRP GEWEX Science Steering Group Member
Publications
UT Research Information System
Google Scholar Link
Courses Academic Year 2022/2023
Courses Academic Year 2021/2022
Projects
(PI: Principal investigator, CO-I: Co-investigator)
- PI: WUNDER: Water Use and Drought Ecohydrological Responses of Agricultural and Nature Ecosystems in the Netherlands - Towards Climate-Robust Production Systems and Water Management. NWO KIC (TUD, WU, HAS, Planet, Deltares, WEnR, HKV+ stakeholders, 2022-2028) (€ 1,516,238)
- CO-I: EcoExtreML: Accelerating Process Understanding for Ecosystem Functioning under Extreme Climates with Physics-Aware Machine Learning. NL eScience Center (PI: Y. Zeng, 2021-2025) (€ 253000)
- CO-I: MINERVA: MIcrowaves for a New Era of Remote sensing of Vegetation for Agricultural monitoring. NWO PIPP (Partnerships for space Instruments & Applications Preparatory Programme) (PI: S. Steele-Dunne, TUD; J. Reiche, WU; + stakeholders, 2020-2023) (€ 155373, plus bench fee)
- PI: CLIMATE-Pan-TPE: Monitoring and Modelling Climate Change in Water, Energy and Carbon Cycles in the Pan-Third Pole Environment (ESA-MOST Dragon Programme IV, Young scientist, 2020-2024) (ID.58516)
- PI: iAqueduct: An integrative information aqueduct to close the gaps between global satellite observation of water cycle and local sustainable management of water resources, ERA-NET Water JPI 2018 joint call, 2019-2023 (Co-Is: Y. Zeng; F. Francés, F. Vallés Morán, Uni Politecnic Vallencia; Giulia Vico, Swedish Uni Agr Sci., S. Manfreda, Uni Basilicata; Brigitta Tóth, Hungary Academy of Sciences ; N. Romano, Uni Naples; E. Ben-Dor, Tel Avis Uni)
- PI: NWO/GO SMAP-Freeze/thaw: Modelling Freeze-Thaw Processes with Active and Passive Microwave Observations, 2015-2019 (Co-Is: R. van der Velde; Y. Zeng; M. Schwank, ETH Zürich; P. Ferrazzoli, TVU, Rome; J. Wen, CAREERI/CAS; Y. Ma, ITP/CAS)
- PI: EU FP7 CORE-CLIMAX: COordinating Earth observation data validation for RE-analysis for CLIMAte ServiceS 2013-2015 (CO-Is: J. Schulz, EUMETSAT; P. Poli, ECMWF; F. Kaspar, DWD; E. Swinnen, VITO; J.-C. Calvet; H. Gregow, FMI; Y. Ma, ITP/CAS; J. Wen, CAREERI/CAS)
- PI: ESA-MOST Dragon Programme I-II-III-IV Advanced Training, 2005-2020 (dragon4.esa.int)
- PI: ESA TIGER Capacity Building Facility I/II, 2007-2012 (Co-I: M. Menenti, TU Delft; E. Swinnen, VITO; M. Painho, ISEGI-UNL) (tiger.itc.nl)
- PI: ESA WACMOS: Water Cycle Multimission Observation Strategy (ESA Support to Science Programme, 2009-2012) (Co-Is: W. Wagner, TU Vienna; R. de Jeu, Vrije Universiteit; R. Roebeling, KNMI and J. Schulz, DWD) (wacmos.org)
- Co-I: EU-FP7 CEOP-AEGIS: Coordinated Asia-European long-term Observing system of Qinghai – Tibet Plateau hydro-meteorological processes and the Asian-monsoon systEm with Ground satellite Image data and numerical Simulations (EU FP7, 2008-2012) (PI: M. Menenti, Université Louis Pasteur LSIIT ULP; Z. Su, ITC; G. Durso, ARIES Space; T. Folken, Uni Bayreuth; L. Jia, Alterra; G. Sobriono, Uni Valencia; Y. Ma, ITP/CAS; L. Liu, CMA; X. Li, BNU; K.D. Sharma, NIH; K. Ueno, Uni Tsukuba; W. Bastiaanssen, WaterWatch; J. Wang, CAREERI/CAS; F. Porcù, Uni Ferrara; C. Liu, IGSNRR/CAS; Q. Liu, IRSA/CAS) (CEOP-AEGIS.org)
- PI: NWO-GO EcoRTM: Modeling radiation, heat and mass (water vapour and carbon) exchanges at the land-atmosphere interface using multi-angular optical and thermal measurements (NWO/SRON GO - User Support Programme, 2005-2008) (Co-Is: L. Jia, WU; M. Menenti, ULP; W. Verhoef, NLR; H. Dolman, VU)
Media
Climate Change and Droughts - monitoring, prediction and adaptation
WUNDER PROJECT FOR STRENGTHENING THE RESILIENCE OF WATER-SOIL-PLANT SYSTEMS
https://www.utwente.nl/en/research/themes/resilient/news-and-events/newsletter-v1/wunder-project/
€ 1.5 million for UT research to mitigate drought damage
https://www.utoday.nl/news/71099/-15-million-for-ut-research-to-mitigate-drought-damage
NWO-KIC grant to UT research on water use during droughts
https://www.itc.nl/news/2022/3/479520/nwo-kic-grant-to-ut-research-on-water-use-during-droughts
Climate Change and Precipitation - monitoring and prediction
ITC algorithm detects rainfall in rural Africa
https://www.itc.nl/news/2022/10/196298/itc-algorithm-detects-rainfall-in-rural-africa
Researcher from UT developed an algorithm to predict rainfall in rural Africa
How mobile phone towers can help farmers monitor rainfall
Mobile Phone Signals Hold Real-Time Rainfall Information
https://physics.aps.org/articles/pdf/10.1103/Physics.14.161
ITC algorithm detects rainfall in rural Africa
https://www.myscience.org/news/2022/itc_algorithm_detects_rainfall_in_rural_africa-2022-utwente
Contact Details
Visiting Address
University of Twente
Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation
Langezijds
(building no. 19), room 1124
Hallenweg 8
7522NH Enschede
The Netherlands
University of Twente
Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation
ITC
(building no. 75), room 5-135
Hengelosestraat 99
7514AE Enschede
The Netherlands
Mailing Address
University of Twente
Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation
ITC
5-135
P.O. Box 217
7500 AE Enschede
The Netherlands