Vladan Babovic

Vladan Babovic

Professor

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Biography

Vladan Babovic is a leading scientist in the field of hydroinformatics where he has been spearheading research in data-driven research and computer modeling of hydraulics and hydrological phenomena from early 1990s. In more recent years, his work on flexibility and real options pertaining to decision-making under deep uncertainties in water- and climate-related domains gaining wider recognition.

In addition to being a leading researcher and educator, Vladan is a scientist entrepreneur who was instrumental in securing funding and subsequently lead establishment and managed growth of research institutes, 65 million Singapore Delft Water Alliance (SDWA) and NUSDeltares, for both of which he served as a founding Director. Under his leadership SDWA and NUSDeltares were recognized in March 2014 by prestigious Winsemius Awards.

Vladan is a Fellow of International Water Association, Chartered Engineer and a Member of the Institution of Engineers (Singapore).

Positions Held

  • Professor, Department of Civil Engineering (2021-present)
  • Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering (2005-2020)
  • Director, NUSDeltares (2012-2014)
  • Director, Singapore Delft Water Alliance (2007-2014)

Consultancy Projects

  • BMT – Jeppesen Marine Advisory Service
  • BMT Feasibility and Detailed Design of Singapore River Diversion, Mott Mac Donald
  • Proposed River Crossing near proposed MRT Station, ARUP

Qualifications

  • Double Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree from Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands and International Institute for Infrastructural, Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, UNESCO-IHE, Delft, The Netherlands
    Thesis: Hydroinformatics: Emergence, Evolution, Intelligence, 1991-1996
  • Programme for Executive Development
    International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Lausanne, Switzerland, 2001-2002
  • Master of Science (M.Sc., cum laude) in Hydroinformatics International Institute for Infrastructural, Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, IHE-Delft, Delft, The Netherlands, 1990-1991
  • Diploma of Hydraulic Engineering (DipHE, cum laude) in Computational Hydraulics, International Institute for Infrastructural, Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, IHE-Delft, Delft, The Netherlands, 1989-1990
  • Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (Dipl. Ing, cum laude) Major in Hydraulic Engineering, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, (former) Yugoslavia, 1981-1986

Honours & Awards

  • 2017 – Council Member, International Association for Hydro-Environmental Research and Engineering
  • 2014 – Albert Winsemius Awards for establishment and leadership of research institutes Singapore Delft Water Alliance and NUSDeltares
  • 2012 — Fellow, International Water Association
  • 1999 — Arthur Thomas Ippen Award of the International Association for Hydraulic Research
  • 1998 — Talent Award of Danish Academy of Technical Sciences
  • 1997 — The Best Paper Award, Danish Hydraulics, 2nd International Software Conference
  • 1986 — Jaroslav Cerni Award as the best Civil Engineering graduate at the Faculty

Professional Activities

  • Member of National Panel of Experts, Coastal Climate Adaptation Study (Singapore)
  • Member of Board of Directors and Chairman Water Committee, Dutch Chamber of Commerce, Singapore
  • Adjunct Professor, Centre for EcoHydraulics Research, University of Idaho1
  • Adjunct Professor, IIHR-Hydroscience and Engineering, University of Iowa
  • Visiting Lecturer, Hydroinformatics Programme, UNESCO-IHE, Delft, The Netherlands
  • Member of Council of Authors of the International Society for Genetic and Evolutionary Computation (ISGEC)
  • Standing Member of Core Programme Policy Committee for Genetic Programming of the International Society for Genetic and Evolutionary Computation (ISGEC)

Editorial Boards

  • International Association for Hydraulic Research (IAHR)
  • American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
  • American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI)
  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
  • International Society for Genetic and Evolutionary Computation (ISGEC)

Teaching Areas

  • Hydroinformatics
  • Water Resources Management
  • Systems Architecting
  • Real Options

Research Interests

  • artificial intelligence
  • machine learning
  • data mining and knowledge discovery
  • data-driven modelling
  • data assimilation
  • computational hydraulics
  • hydroinformatics

Selected Publications

  1. Jiang S; Zheng Y; Wang C; Babovic V;  2022, Uncovering Flooding Mechanisms Across the Contiguous United States Through Interpretive Deep Learning on Representative Catchments WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH  Vol. 58 (1)
  2. Vijayaraghavan K; Biswal BK; Adam MG; Soh SH; Tsen-Tieng DL; Davis AP; Chew SH; Tan PY; Babovic V; Balasubramanian R, 2021, Bioretention systems for stormwater management: Recent advances and future prospects, JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT  Vol. 292
  3. Herath HMVV; Chadalawada J; Babovic V, 2021, Genetic programming for hydrological applications: to model or forecast that is the question, JOURNAL OF HYDROINFORMATICS  Vol. 23 (4)    pp. 740 – 763
  4. Herath, HMVHM, Chadalawada, J., and Babovic V., 2021, Hydrologically informed machine learning for rainfall–runoff modelling: towards distributed modelling Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 25 (8), 4373-4401
  5. Cai H; Shi H; Liu S; Babovic V (2021), Impacts of regional characteristics on improving the accuracy of groundwater level prediction using machine learning: The case of central eastern continental United States, JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY-REGIONAL STUDIES  Vol. 37
  6. Chadalawada, J., & Babovic, V., 2020., Physics-informed approach to rainfall runoff modelling: A Genetic Programing Approach. Water Resources Research, 56(4)
  7. Chadalawada J; Herath HMVV; Babovic V (2020), Hydrologically Informed Machine Learning for Rainfall-Runoff Modeling: A Genetic Programming-Based Toolkit for Automatic Model Induction, Water Resources Research  Vol. 56 (4), 10.1029/2019WR026933
  8. Wang X; Zhang J; Babovic V; Gin KYH (2019), A comprehensive integrated catchment-scale monitoring and modelling approach for facilitating management of water quality, Environmental Modelling and Software  Vol. 120, 10.1016/j.envsoft.2019.07.014
  9. Li X; Babovic V (2019), A new scheme for multivariate, multisite weather generator with inter-variable, inter-site dependence and inter-annual variability based on empirical copula approach, Climate Dynamics  Vol. 52 (3-4), 10.1007/s00382-018-4249-5
  10. Jiang S; Babovic V; Zheng Y; Xiong J (2019), Advancing Opportunistic Sensing in Hydrology: A Novel Approach to Measuring Rainfall With Ordinary Surveillance Cameras, Water Resources Research  Vol. 55 (4), 10.1029/2018WR024480
  11. Yao Y; Andrews C; Zheng Y; He X; Babovic V; Zheng C (2019), Development of fresh groundwater lens in coastal reclaimed islands, JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY  Vol. 573, 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.03.062
  12. Li X; Babovic V (2019), Multi-site multivariate downscaling of global climate model outputs: an integrated framework combining quantile mapping, stochastic weather generator and Empirical Copula approaches,  Climate Dynamics  Vol. 52 (9-10), 10.1007/s00382-018-4480-0
  13. Li X; Zhang K; Babovic V (2019), Projections of future climate change in Singapore based on a multi-site multivariate downscaling approach, Water, Vol. 11 (11), 10.3390/w11112300
  14. Chadalawada J; Babovic V (2019), Review and comparison of performance indices for automatic model induction, JOURNAL OF HYDROINFORMATICS  Vol. 21 (1), 10.2166/hydro.2017.078
  15. Jiang S; Zheng Y; Babovic V; Tian Y; Han F (2018), A computer vision-based approach to fusing spatiotemporal data for hydrological modeling, JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY  Vol. 567, 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.09.064
  16. Li X; Wang X; Babovic V (2018), Analysis of variability and trends of precipitation extremes in Singapore during 1980-2013, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY  Vol. 38 (1), 10.1002/joc.5165
  17. Babovic F; Babovic V; Mijic A (2018), Antifragility and the development of urban water infrastructure, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT  Vol. 34 (4), 10.1080/07900627.2017.1369866
  18. Manocha N; Babovic V (2018) Real options, multi-objective optimization and the development of dynamically robust adaptive pathways, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY  Vol. 90, 10.1016/j.envsci.2018.09.012
  19. Manocha N; Babovic V (2018), Sequencing Infrastructure Investments under Deep Uncertainty Using Real Options Analysis, WATER  Vol. 10 (2), 10.3390/w10020229
  20. Li X; Meshgi A; Wang X; Zhang J; Tay SHX; Pijcke G; Manocha N; Ong M; Manh TN; Babovic V (2018), Three resampling approaches based on method of fragments for daily-to-subdaily precipitation disaggregation, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY  Vol. 38, 10.1002/joc.5438
  21. Chadalawada J; Havlicek V; Babovic V (2017) A Genetic Programming Approach to System Identification of Rainfall-Runoff Models, WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT  Vol. 31 (12), 10.1007/s11269-017-1719-1
  22. Wang X; Babovic V; Li X (2017), Application of spatial-temporal error correction in updating hydrodynamic model, JOURNAL OF HYDRO-ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH  Vol. 16,  10.1016/j.jher.2017.07.001
  23. Manocha, N., & Babovic, V. (2017). Development and valuation of adaptation pathways for storm water management infrastructure. Environmental Science and Policy, 77, 86-97. doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2017.08.001
  24. Babovic, F., Babovic, V., & Mijic, A. (2017). Antifragility and the development of urban water infrastructure. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 1-11. doi:10.1080/07900627.2017.1369866
  25. Wang, X., Babovic, V., & Li, X. (2017). Application of spatial-temporal error correction in updating hydrodynamic model. Journal of Hydro-Environment Research, 16, 45-57. doi:10.1016/j.jher.2017.07.001
  26. Chadalawada, J., Havlicek, V., & Babovic, V. (2017). A Genetic Programming Approach to System Identification of Rainfall-Runoff Models. Water Resources Management, 31(12), 3975-3992. doi:10.1007/s11269-017-1719-1
  27. Karri, R. R., & Babovic, V. (2017). Enhanced predictions of tides and surges through data assimilation. International Journal of Engineering, Transactions A: Basics, 30(1), 23-29. doi:10.5829/idosi.ije.2017.30.01a.04
  28. Li, X., Wang, X., & Babovic, V. (2017). Analysis of variability and trends of precipitation extremes in Singapore during 1980-2013. International Journal of Climatology. doi:10.1002/joc.5165
  29. Goh, S. G., Bayen, S., Burger, D., Kelly, B. C., Han, P., Babovic, V., & Gin, K. Y. H. (2017). Occurrence and distribution of bacteria indicators, chemical tracers and pathogenic vibrios in Singapore coastal waters. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 114(1), 627-634. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.09.036
  30. Wang, X., & Babovic, V. (2016). Application of hybrid Kalman filter for improving water level forecast. JOURNAL OF HYDROINFORMATICS, 18(5), 773-790. doi:10.2166/hydro.2016.085
  31. Schmitter, P., Goedbloed, A., Galelli, S., & Babovic, V. (2016). Effect of Catchment-Scale Green Roof Deployment on Stormwater Generation and Reuse in a Tropical City. JOURNAL OF WATER RESOURCES PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT, 142(7), 13 pages. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000643
  32. Wang, X., Zhang, J., & Babovic, V. (2016). Improving real-time forecasting of water quality indicators with combination of process-based models and data assimilation technique. Ecological Indicators, 66, 428- 439. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.02.016
  33. Duerinck, H. M., van der Ent, R. J., van de Giesen, N. C., Schoups, G., Babovic, V., & Yeh, P. J. -F. (2016). Observed Soil Moisture-Precipitation Feedback in Illinois: A Systematic Analysis over Different Scales. JOURNAL OF HYDROMETEOROLOGY, 17(6), 1645-1660. doi:10.1175/JHM-D-15-0032.1
  34. Tay, S. H. X., Kurniawan, A., Ooi, S. K., & Baboyic, V. (2016). Sea level anomalies in straits of Malacca and Singapore. APPLIED OCEAN RESEARCH, 58, 104-117. doi:10.1016/j.apor.2016.04.003
  35. Buurman, J., & Babovic, V. (2016). Adaptation Pathways and Real Options Analysis: An approach to deep uncertainty in climate change adaptation policies. POLICY AND SOCIETY, 35(2), 137-150. doi:10.1016/j.polsoc.2016.05.002
  36. Li, X., Meshgi, A., & Babovic, V. (2016). Spatio-temporal variation of wet and dry spell characteristics of tropical precipitation in Singapore and its association with ENSO. International Journal of Climatology, 36(15), 4831-4846. doi:10.1002/joc.4672
  37. Meshgi, A., Schmitter, P., Chui, T. F. M., & Babovic, V. (2015). Development of a modular streamflow model to quantify runoff contributions from different land uses in tropical urban environments using Genetic Programming. JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY, 525, 711-723. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.04.032
  38. Kurniawan, A., Tay, S. H. X., Ooi, S. K., Babovic, V., & Gerritsen, H. (2015). Analyzing the physics of non-tidal barotropic sea level anomaly events using multi-scale numerical modelling in Singapore regional waters. In JOURNAL OF HYDRO-ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH Vol. 9 (pp. 404-419). ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV. doi:10.1016/j.jher.2014.10.005
  39. Meshgi, A., P. Schmitter, V. Babovic, and T. F. M. Chui (2014), An empirical method for approximating stream baseflow time series using groundwater table fluctuations, Journal of Hydrology, 519, Part A, 1031-1041.
  40. Wang, X., & Babovic, V. (2014). Enhancing water level prediction through model residual correction based on Chaos theory and Kriging. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, 75(1), 42-62.
  41. Kurniawan, A., Ooi, S. K., & Babovic, V. (2014). Improved sea level anomaly prediction through combination of data relationship analysis and genetic programming in Singapore Regional Waters. Computers & Geosciences, 72, 94-104. doi: 10.1016/j.cageo.2014.07.007
  42. Karri, R. R., Badwe, A., Wang, X., El Serafy, G., Sumihar, J., Babovic, V., & Gerritsen, H. (2013). Application of data assimilation for improving forecast of water levels and residual currents in Singapore regional waters. Ocean Dynamics, 63(1), 43-61. doi: 10.1007/s10236-012-0584-y
  43. Deng Y, Cardin M.-A., Babovic V., Santhanakrishnan, D., Schmitter, P., Meshgi, A. (2013). Valuing flexibilities in the design of urban water management systems. Water research, 47(20), 13.
  44. Chan, L. G., & Babovic, V. (2013). Real options and CO 2 reduction policies for climate change. International Journal of System of Systems Engineering, 4(2), 140-161.
  45. Basnayake, L. A., & Babovic, V. (2013). Rainfall-runoff modelling with data driven techniques: constraints and proper implementation. In A. Chavoshian & K. Takeuchi (Eds.), Floods: from Risk to Opportunity (pp. 273-282).
  46. Zhang, S. X., & Babovic, V. (2012). A real options approach to the design and architecture of water supply systems using innovative water technologies under uncertainty. Journal of Hydroinformatics, 14(1), 13-29. doi: 10.2166/hydro.2011.078
  47. Sun, Y., Babovic, V., & Chan, E. S. (2012). Artificial neural networks as routine for error correction with an application in Singapore regional model. Ocean Dynamics, 62(5), 661-669. doi: 10.1007/s10236-012-0524-x
  48. Clarke, S. R., Markovic, E., Nguyen, K., Babovic, V., Swarup, S., Wijdeveld, A., Hyde, K. (2012). Sol-gel materials for WSUD water treatment applications. Papers of American Chemical Society, 243.
  49. Zhang, S. X., & Babovic, V. (2011). An evolutionary real options framework for the design and management of projects and systems with complex real options and exercising conditions. Decision Support Systems, 51(1), 119-129. doi: 10.1016/j.dss.2010.12.001
  50. 2011, A real options approach to design and architech water supply systems using alternative water resources under uncertainty, Journal of Hydroinformatics, Vol. 14, Issue 1 (with S Zhang)
  51. 2011, An evolutionary real options framework for design and management large-scale projects and systems with multiple real options, Decision Support System, Vol. 51 (with S Zhang)
  52. 2010, Architecting a maritime domain protection system:, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering-ASCE (with Buurman J and Z Xu)
  53. 2010, Multi-step-ahead model error prediction using time-delay neural networks combined with chaos theory, Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 395, Issue 2010, pp. 109-116 (with Sun Y and E S Chan)
  54. 2009, Reducing risk through real options in system design: The case of architecting a maritime domain protection system, Risk Analysis, Vol 29, Issue 3, pp 366-379
  55. 2009, Introducing knowledge into learning based on genetic programming, Journal of Hydroinformatics, Vol. 11, Issue 3-4, pp 181-193
  56. 2009, Applying local model approach for tidal prediction in a deterministic model, International Journal for Numerical Method in Fluids, Vol. 60, Issue 6, pp 651-667 (with Sun Y, Piyamarn Sisomphon and ES Chan)
  57. 2009, Reducing risk through real options in systems design: The case of architecting a maritime domain protection system, Risk Analysis, Vol. 29, Issue 3, pp 366-379 (with Buurman, JJ G and X Zhang)
  58. 2009, Efficient data assimilation method based on chaos theory and kalman filter with an application in Singapore regional model, Journal of Hydro-environment research, Vol. 3, Issue 2, pp 85-95 (with Sun Y, Piyamarn Sisomphon and ES Chan)
  59. 2007, On inducing equations for vegetation resistance, Journal of Hydraulic Research, Vol. 44, Issue 5, (with J Rodrigues, M Baptist, M Keijzer, R Uittenbogaard, A Verwey and A Mynett)
  60. 2000, Genetic programming as a model induction engine, Journal of Hydroinformatics, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 35-60 (with Keijzer, M.)
  61. 2001, Neural networks as a routine for error correction of numerical models, ASCE Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Vol. 127, No. 3, pp. 181-193 (with Jensen, H.R., Klinting, A.K. and Canizares, R.T.)
  62. 1997, The evolution of equation from hydraulic data, Part I: Theory, Journal of Hydraulic Research, Vol. 35, No. 3, pp. 397 – 410 (with M.B. Abbott)
  63. 2001, Genetic programming and its application in real-time runoff forcasting, Journal of the American Water Resources Association, Vol. 37, Issue 2, pp. 439-451 (with Soon Thiam Khu, Shie-Yui Liong, Nitin Muttil and Henrik Madsen)
  64. 2004, EC-SVM approach for real-time hydrologic forecasting, Journal of Hydroinformatics, Vol. 6, pp. 209-223 (with Xinying Yu, and Shie-Yui Liong)
  65. 1999, Dimensionally Aware Genetic Programming, Proceedings of the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference, Vol. 2, (with M. Keijzer)
  66. 1996, Emergence, Evolution, Intelligence: Hydroinformatics, Balkema Publishers, Book
  67. 2002, A data mining approach to modelling of water supply assets, Urban Water, Vol. 4, Issue 4, pp 401-414 (with Jean-Philippe Drecourt, M. Keijzer and Peter Friss Hansen)

Staff Details

Contact Number

6516 4929

Email Address

vladan@nus.edu.sg

Location

E1A 05-09