Fall 2025 update: Retired from UC faculty positions, and still working as Research Professor at UC Merced. Recall at UC Berkeley pending (Jan 2026, as per new UC rules).
Bio: Dr. Roger Bales is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Engineering and a founding faculty member at UC Merced, and has been active in water- and climate-related research for over 40 years. He has been a professor at UC Merced since 2003, an Adjunct Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the UC Berkeley since 2013. He was previously Professor of Hydrology and Water Resources at the University of Arizona (1984-2003). His scholarship includes over 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals and proceedings, and more presentations, book chapters, and reports. Currently, his work focuses on California’s efforts to build the knowledge base and implement policies that adapt our water supplies, critical ecosystems and economy to the impacts of climate warming. He works with leaders in state agencies, elected officials, federal land managers, water leaders, non-governmental organizations, and other key decision makers on developing climate solutions for California. He is a fellow in the American Geophysical Union, the American Meteorological Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has served as Director of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute, the Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory, and the UC Water Security and Sustainability Research Initiative, and co-director of the UC Center for Ecosystem Climate Solutions.
Research interests include ecosystem climate solutions, water resources, mountain hydrology, climate communications
Links: Google scholar page || UCM homepage || UCB homepage | Curriculum vitae || Linkedin || Flickr || HeadShots
Education
Ph. D., 1985, Environmental Engineering Science, California Institute of Technology
M.S., 1984, Social Science/Economics, California Institute of Technology
M.S., 1975, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UC Berkeley
B.S., 1974, Civil Engineering, Purdue University
Registration: Registered Civil Engineer in California #27677