ASU hydrology expert wins distinguished science award
Upmanu Lall of ASU's Water Institute recognized during Climate Week 2025 for impactful work in water resource management, flood control, more
Upmanu Lall, director of the Water Institute, part of ASU's Global Futures Laboratory, speaks at the "Global Water Futures: Anticipation and Innovation" event at the Rob and Melani Walton Center for Planetary Health earlier this year. ASU photo
The American Geophysical Union has presented the 2025 Peter S. Eagleson Hydrologic Sciences Award to Upmanu Lall, professor and director of the Water Institute in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University, for his distinguished and impactful work in hydrology, which plays a critical role in water resource management, flood control and pollution reduction. The AGU presented the award during Climate Week 2025 in New York City.
AGU is the world's largest Earth and space science association, celebrating individuals and teams through its annual Honors and Recognition Program for their accomplishments in research, education, science communication and outreach. The honorees have transformed understanding of the world, impacted everyday lives, improved communities and contributed to solutions for a sustainable future.
Lall is globally recognized for his extensive research in hydrology, climate dynamics, statistics and machine learning, as well as risk and insurance analysis — working with banks, governments and the private sector to implement financial, technical and policy solutions for water and climate challenges, from the village to country scale and on all major continents. Lall has more than 550 research publications and has been cited more than 19,000 times.
The Peter S. Eagleson Hydrologic Sciences Award, previously known as the Hydrologic Sciences Award and the Robert E. Horton Award from 1956 to 1998, is presented each year to recognize outstanding contributions to the science of hydrology over the course of an awardee's career.
Professor Eagleson was a pioneer in the field of hydrology, transforming it from an engineering specialty with local application into the global-scale study of the water cycle it is today. His 1970 book, titled "Dynamic Hydrology," provided a radically new perspective on the movement and storage of water in the environment. He redefined the water cycle as a system intricately linked with climate, biogeochemical cycles and life on Earth.
“Pete Eagleson has been an inspiration to me, and I was elated to talk to him at the first AGU meeting I attended, which led to his inviting me to join the Surface Water Hydrology Committee," said Lall.
“(Eagleson's) book, ‘Dynamic Hydrology,’ forever shaped my thinking of hydrology as a planetary science rather than as a land surface process. I am humbled to receive this award, which is really a testament to the brilliance and contributions of the students and researchers I have been honored to be associated with.”
Following his retirement from MIT, Eagleson continued producing inspiring new ideas. He published two books: "Ecohydrology" (2002) and "Range and Richness of Vascular Land Plants" (2009) that ushered in yet another transformation of the discipline by bridging the fields of hydrology and ecology.
Lall joins a distinguished group of scientists, leaders and communicators recognized by AGU for advancing science. Each honoree reflects AGU's vision for a thriving, sustainable and equitable future supported by scientific discovery, innovation and action.
Honorees will be recognized at AGU25, which will convene in New Orleans, Louisiana, in December. Reflecting the theme "Where Science Connects Us," the honors reception will recognize groundbreaking achievements that illustrate science's continual advancement, inspiring the AGU community with their stories and successes.