Elfatih Ali Babiker Eltahir (; born October 1961) is a Sudanese-American Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, H.M. King

Bhumibol Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any Thai monarch, the longest on record of any independent ...

Professor of Hydrology and Climate, and Director of the MIT- UM6P Research Program at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

Early life and education

Elfatih Eltahir was born in

Omdurman Omdurman () is a major city in Sudan. It is the second most populous city in the country, located in the State of Khartoum. Omdurman lies on the west bank of the River Nile, opposite and northwest of the capital city of Khartoum. The city acts ...

, Sudan, in October 1961 to Ali Babiker Eltahir and Nafisa Hassan Musa. He earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

(First Class Honours) in civil engineering from the

University of Khartoum The University of Khartoum (U of K) () is a public university located in Khartoum, Sudan. It is the largest and oldest university in Sudan. UofK was founded as Gordon Memorial College in 1902 and established in 1956 when Sudan gained independen ...

in 1985. He won the university Merghani Hamza Prize. He then completed a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

(First Class Honours) in

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and drainage basin sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is called a hydro ...

at the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

in 1988, and winning the McLaughlin Award. Eltahir then completed another Master of Science in

meteorology Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agricultur ...

and a

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

(Sc.D.) in Hydro-climatology, both in 1993, from the

(MIT). His project was about the “interactions of hydrology and climate in the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

”, which was funded by the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Fellowship in Global Change Research and was supervised by Rafael L. Bras.

Career and research

Eltahir continued working at MIT after his Sc.D. as a

post-doctoral A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary academ ...

associate before being promoted to assistant professor in 1994. In 1995, he became the Gilbert Winslow Career Development Chair (1995–1998). In 1998, he became an Associate Professor and then a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2003. He is the H.M. King

Professor of Hydrology and Climate, and the Director of the MIT-

Mohammed VI Polytechnic University University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P; ) is a Moroccan non-profit private research university. Its main campus is located within the Green City of Benguerir. Centered on African development, the university is oriented towards applied resear ...

(UM6P) Research Program which focuses on

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

in Africa. Eltahir's research focuses on developing numerical models, that are verified against satellite observations, to study how global climate change may impact society through changes in water availability and disease outbreaks, especially in Africa and Asia.

Award and honours

Eltahir received NASA's New Investigator Award in 1996, US

Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States federal government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. T ...

(PECASE) in 1997, and Kuwait Prize in Applied Sciences for his work on Climate Change in 1999. He was elected a Fellow of the

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, Atmospheric science, atmospheric, Oceanography, ocean, Hydrology, hydrologic, Astronomy, space, and Planetary science, planetary scientists and enthusiasts that ...

(AGU) in 2008, and then received AGU's Hydrologic Sciences Award in 2017. In 2023, he was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

(NAE), and a Fellow of

The World Academy of Sciences The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries (TWAS) is a North–south research partnerships, merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting more than 1,400 scientists in some 1 ...

(TWAS) for the advancement of science in

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed Secondary sector of the economy, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. ...

. Eltahir is a member of the

American Meteorological Society The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is a scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. Its mission is to advance the atmosph ...

, the

Royal Meteorological Society The Royal Meteorological Society is an organization that promotes academic and public engagement in weather and climate science. Fellows of the Society must possess relevant qualifications, but Members can be lay enthusiasts. It publishes vari ...

, the

American Society of Civil Engineers The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a tax-exempt professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, it is the oldest national engineering soci ...

, the Sudan Engineering Society, and the

Sudanese National Academy of Sciences The Sudanese National Academy of Sciences (SNAS) is a non-governmental organisation based in Khartoum, Sudan, that aims to promote the growth of the science and research sector in Sudan through collaboration in areas of education, science, techn ...

Personal life

Eltahir has six siblings, and married Shahinaz Ahmed Badri in December 1991. He has two children, Nafisa (

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

’ Correspondent for Sudan and Egypt) and Mohamed.

Books

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eltahir, Elfatih Living people MIT School of Engineering faculty 21st-century American engineers Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni University of Khartoum alumni Fellows of the American Geophysical Union Members of the Sudanese National Academy of Sciences TWAS fellows 1961 births Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering American people of Sudanese descent Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers