Umar Waqas

Postdoctoral Fellows

Post-Doctoral Fellow, Environmental Sciences and Engineering

Alumni

Social Profile:

Biography

Umar received his PhD in Water Resources and Environmental Engineering from Hanyang University in Seoul, Korea in 2016. Prior to this he studied Agricultural Engineering, receiving an MS and BS from the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad, Pakistan (2011 and 2008 respectively). Umar joined KAUST in April 2016.

Research Interests

Umar’s research interests are in using remote sensing dataset and technologies to provide integrative water resources management solutions, especially in the face of variability in current and future climates. His expertise are in the use of different single and dual source energy budget models and state-of-the-art hydrological assessment tools to map: (1) changes in crop water demand and consumption by means of evapotranspiration; (2) surface energy balance and heat exchanges; (3) water productivity in irrigation schemes; and (4) integrated management of surface and groundwater resources by using soil-crop-water matrix approaches.

Selected Publications

For a full list of my publications, please refer to my Google Scholar page:

  • Umar Waqas Liaqat and Minha Choi*. 2015. “Surface energy fluxes in the Northeast Asia ecosystem: SEBS and METRIC models using Landsat satellite images.” Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Vol. 214-215: 60-79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2015.08.245
  • Umar Waqas Liaqat, Minha Choi* and Usman Khalid Awan. 2015. “Spatio-temporal distribution of actual evapotranspiration in the Indus Basin Irrigation System.” Hydrological Processes, Vol. 29(11): 2613-2627. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10401
  • KyuhyunByun, Umar Waqas Liaqat, and Minha Choi*. 2014. "Dual-model approaches for evapotranspiration analyses over homo-and heterogeneous land surface conditions." Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Vol. 197: 169-187. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2014.07.001

Education

  • Ph.D., Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul-Korea, 2016.
  • M.Sc., Agricultural Engineering, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan, 2011.​​
  • ​B.Sc., Agricultural Engineering, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan, 2008.​​​

Professional Profile

  • 2016-Present: Postdoctoral fellow, KAUST, Saudi Arabia
  • 2014-2016: Research Associate, Water Resources & Remote Sensing laboratory, SKKU, South Korea
  • 2012-2014: Teaching Assistant, Hanyang University, South Korea
  • 2009-2012: Lecturer, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan

Scientific and Professional Membership

Korea Water Resources Association (KWRA)
Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC)

Awards

  • Ph.D. Research Scholarship, 2012- 2016
  • Gold Medalist in B.Sc., Agricultural Engineering
  • Graduate Merit Scholarship in University of Agriculture Faisalabad Pakistan.

Research Interests Keywords

Crop health and productivity Environment modeling Agricultural monitoring Satellite Remote Sensing Modelling of water and carbon cycle processes Hydrology