Ibrahim Alameddine
Sr. Statistician
Key skills: Mathematical and statistical modelling, surface water quality modelling and assessments, sampling design, data analysis, eutrophication, environmental assessments, GIS, environmental remote sensing, research and technical writing, programming in R.
Ibrahim’s work focuses on developing and applying novel modeling techniques that facilitate the analysis of complex environmental and ecological problems and assist environmental management. He is a proponent of adopting a multi-disciplinary approach towards addressing modern “wicked problems” and implementing rigorous uncertainty quantification to help informed decision-making. He is particularly interested in quantifying pollutant loads at the watershed scale, understanding the drivers of eutrophication and harmful algal blooms, as well as assessing the severity and causes of environmental impairments. His work often explores the potential to effectively harness and leverage information from remote sensing and low-cost monitoring platforms to improve our understanding of poorly monitored environmental systems.
Prior to joining ESSA, Ibrahim was an Associate Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. During that period, he managed an active research program that focused on environmental monitoring and modelling, mentored a vibrant team of graduate students, taught courses on surface water quality modelling, geographic information systems, and statistics. In addition to his academic career, he has been providing consultations to a wide range of governmental bodies and international development organizations involved in environmental and water resources management. This allowed him to work on a diverse set of projects across North America and the Middle East, such as: 1) providing model-based recommendations to improve water resources management and water quality in several international watersheds (e.g. the Litani watershed, the Jordan River, and the Euphrates-Tigris); 2) generating a risk and ecological analysis toolkit for the Mediterranean; 3) developing and implementing a framework to assess the suitability of aquifer storage and recovery in the Middle East and North Africa; 4) modelling the influence of watershed stressors on fish and invertebrate species in the Gulf of Mexico estuaries; and 5) modelling the impacts of climate change and anthropogenic pressures on saltwater intrusion dynamics along the Eastern Mediterranean. Additionally, Ibrahim was involved in the development and review of several environmental impact assessments across a wide range of sectors.
Ibrahim holds a B.Sc. in Biology and a M.Sc. in Environmental Technology from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. He received his Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment (North Carolina, USA), where he quantified the impacts of the implementation of the Total Maximum Daily Load program on the reduction of nitrogen loads to the Neuse Estuary through the development of Bayesian hierarchical models and Bayesian Belief Networks. With funding from the United States Geological Survey, he also assessed the effects of urbanization on stream macroinvertebrate communities in nine metropolitan regions across the conterminous United States. Following his graduation from Duke, he joined the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability as a Postdoctoral Fellow, where he assessed the sources of the nutrient loads reaching Lake Erie to help understand the drivers of harmful cyanobacterial blooms.
Outside work, Ibrahim enjoys spending time with his family and friends.