KJ Jafarzadegan

Dr. Keighobad (KJ) Jafarzadegan is an assistant professor in the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at Oklahoma State University.  His appointment includes research and extension on characterization, modeling, and management of hydrological extremes. Dr. Jafarzadegan's research focuses on enhancing the predictive capabilities of models used for simulating hydrological extremes, developing flood and drought forecasting tools, modeling coupled human-hydrological systems, and quantifying the hazard, vulnerability, and risk across various scales.  In collaboration with the Oklahoma Water Resources Center,  Dr. Jafarzadegan's extension program aims to enhance the resilience of local communities to droughts and floods by raising awareness, developing advanced user-friendly tools, and devising hazard mitigation strategies. To properly address these research questions, Dr. Jafarzadegan's lab utilizes a wide range of tools including Hydrologic and Hydrodynamic models, Data Assimilation and Machine Learning techniques, Satellite remote sensing data, and statistical methods. Before joining OSU, Dr. Jafarzadegan was a senior research associate at the University of Alabama. He received his PhD from Purdue University's School of Civil Engineering in 2019.

Research Interest:

Hydrological Extremes Modeling

Flood and Drought Forecasting

Hazard, Vulnerability, and Risk Assessment 

Coupled human-hydrological system modeling

Integrated Water Resources Management