Short Biography

Dr. Kam is an associate professor (since 09/2023; assistant professor: 01/2020-08/2023) in the Division of Environmental Science and Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH). My research interests center on 1) hydroclimatology with a focus on drought mechanisms and predictability, 2) disaster informatics, particularly social response to water-related disasters from the lens of Big Data such as Google Trends, Twitter, and other socioeconomic data, 3) hybrid (AI-deterministic) hydrologic and water use modeling, including anthropogenic processes, at multi-scales. During my Ph.D. study at Princeton University (2010-2015), I investigated the risk and predictability of U.S. drought at multi-scales using observational data, reanalysis products, climate model forecasts and projections. During my postdoc at GFDL/NOAA (2015-2017), I conducted a rapid event assessment of detection and attribution of recent climatic extremes using the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) Models. After joining the University of Alabama as a faculty member in 2017, I was interested in understanding of how the U.S. society responds change at the state- and national-levels during the emergence of a drought via digital tracing data, such as Twitter/X and Google Trends. After joining Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) in 2020, I have explored application of AI to investigate hidden patterns of social behavior in big data. Recently, I have investigated sentimental alterations in Alabamians' reports of water pollution complaints using over 10,000 of citizen's complaints over 2012-2021 and time-varying impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on online search activities relating to shopping items in South Korea. My past transdisciplinary research experience reinforced my interest into the coupled dynamics of physical-social systems.  

A. PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

• Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

        Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2015

        M.A., Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2012

• Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

        B.S.E. (honors), Civil Engineering, 2010

​B. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• 01/2026-11/2026: Visiting Scholar, School of Geography and Environmental Science, Univeristy of Southampton, U.K.

• 09/2023 - present : Associate Professor (tenure track), Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, POSTECH, South Korea

• 01/2020 - 08/2023: Assistant Professor (tenure track), Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, POSTECH, South Korea

• 03/2020-02/2022: Adjunct Professor, Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence, POSTECH, South Korea

• 01/2020-05/2023: Graduate Faculty, Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

• 08/2017 - 12/2019: Assistant Professor (tenure track), Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

• 04/2015 - 08/2017: Visiting Scientist, Climate Impacts and Extremes Group, NOAA GFDL, Princeton, NJ

• 04/2015 - 08/2017: Postdoctoral Research Associate, The AOS Program, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

• 09/2010 - 03/2015: Graduate Research Assistant, CEE, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

​

C. HONORS AND AWARDS

• 2026: IOP Outstanding Reviewer Award for Environmental Research: Water

• 2020: IOP Outstanding Reviewer Award for Environmental Research Letters

• 2013: 1st Place Student Poster Presentation Award, 27th Conference on Hydrology at the 93rd AMS Annual Meeting

(with students and researchers)

at POSTECH (since 2020):

• 2024

  • Eunmi Lee (PhD candidate): A Recipient of the Outstanding Presentation Award (Oral), The 2024 Korean Water Resources Association Conference

• 2023

  • Yena Kim (MSE/PhD student): A Recipient of the Outstanding Presentation Award (Oral), The 2023 Korean Water Resources Association Conference

• 2022

  • Anqi Liu (PhD student): A Recipient of the Excellence Award (Oral), the 2022 Smart Water Grid International Conference

  • Dr. Byeong-Hee Kim (Postdoc. Research Associate): A Recipient of the Outstanding Presentation Award (Oral), The 2022 Korean Water Resources Association Conference

  • Eunmi Lee (MSE/PhD student): A Recipient of the Outstanding Presentation Award (Oral), The 2022 Korean Water Resources Association Conference

At the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (08/2017-12/2019):

• 2020: 

  • Sungyoon Kim (PhD student): an awardee of the Alabama Graduate Research Scholars Program (GRSP). This award can amount up to $25,000. 

• 2019: 

  • Junho Song (PhD student): a winner of the 1st place Graduate Student Poster Competition at the Alabama Water Institute Symposium 2019 (The award prize is $250).

  • Madden Scuibba (MA student):  a recipient of the Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Science, Technology, and Policy Program

• 2018: 

  • Jeffrey Edmondson (MA student):  a recipient of the Lifesavers Traffic Safety Scholars during the 2018 Lifesavers Conference

D. RESEARCH SUPPORT

FUNDED:

At POSTECH, Pohang, South Korea (01/2020-present):

(funded projects; by 05/2026)

• NRF of Korea: Development of an Integrated Multimodal AI System Based on a National Climate and Disaster Data Ecosystem (국가 기후․재난 데이터 생태계 기반 통합 멀티모달 AI 시스템 개발; RS-2026-25537812)

  • • Awarded Amount: 4 billion KRW (2.7 million USD) 

    • Role: Co-investigator

    • Proposed Project Period: 2026-2029

• NRF of Korea: Multi-scale assessment of megadrought mechanisms and predictability over East Asia (동아시아 극한 가뭄의 생성기작과 예측성에 대한 다중규모 분석; RS-2026-25470040)

  • • Awarded Amount: 1 billion KRW (680k USD) 

    • Role: Lead-PI

    • Proposed Project Period: 2026-2028

• KMI: 국가기후예측시스템 접합기술 개발 (RS-2025-02222417)

  • • Awarded Amount: 100k KRW

    • Role: Co-investigator

    • Proposed Project Period: 2025-2030

• KEIT: 실측기반 가뭄영향평가 및 대응기술 개발 (RS-2022-ND641011)

  • • Awarded Amount: 50k KRW

    • Role: Co-investigator

    • Proposed Project Period: 2022-2026

• (sub-contracted project) Korea Institute of Marine Science & Technology Promotion: A Study of Hydrologic Changes  over the Arctic Ocean and in Marine Ecology in Climate Projections (북극해의 수문학적 변화와 해양 생태 미래 전망에 대한 바른 이해)

  • • Awarded Amount: 50 million KWR per year

    • Role: Co-investigator

    • Proposed Project Period: 2021-2026

(completed projects; by 05/2026)

• NRF of Korea: Multi-scale assessment of drought mechanisms and predictability  (가뭄의 생성기작과 예측성에 대한 다중규모 분석)

  • • Awarded Amount: 0.6 million US dollars for 4.5 years (2021-2025; $120k per year)

    • Role: Lead-PI (100%; $120k per year)

    • Proposed Project Period: 2021-2025

• NRF of Korea: Impact of the land and terrestrial ecosystem in East Asia on global/local carbon cycle (동아시아 지면 및 지면 생태계가 탄소순환에 미치는 영향 연구)

  • • Awarded Amount: 0.9 million US dollars for 4.5 years (2021-2025; $200k per year)

    • Role: Lead-PI (50%; $100k per year)

    • Proposed Project Period: 2021-2025

• NRF of Korea: Marine Carbon Variability Monitoring Technology Research Team (해양탄소변동 감시기술연구단)

  • • Awarded Amount: 1.5 million US dollars for three years (2020-2023; $500k per year)

    • Role: Co-PI (30%; $125k per year)

    • Proposed Project Period: 2020-2023 

At the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (08/2017-12/2019):

• UCAR: Center for Remote Sensing of Snow and Soil Moisture Measurements

  • • Awarded Amount: $10 Millions

    • Role: Co-PI (4.5%; $450,000)

    • Proposed Project Period: 2018-2020

• NSF P2C2: Collaborative Research: NSF P2C2-Paleo-perspectives of streamflow variability for Southeastern Interstate Rivers 

  • • Awarded Amount: $348,769.00

    • Role: Co-PI (10%: $34,877)

    • Proposed Project Period: 2018-2021

• EPA GMP: Analyzing Past and Future Trends in Streamflow and Extreme events in Coastal Watersheds of Mississippi, Alabama, and Northwest Florida

  • • Awarded Amount: $299,214.00

    • Role: Co-PI (10%: $29,921)

    • Proposed Project Period: 2017-2020

E. TEACHING

At POSTECH

• Introduction to Environment Big Data (EVSE593), Hydroclimatology (EVSE592), Introduction to Environmental Science (EVSE101), Disaster Informatics (EVSE680K), 

At the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (08/2017-12/2019):

• Computational Hydrology (CE591-320), Hydrology (CE475/575)

F.  PUBLICATIONS (<-click to see the list of publications)

G. PATENTS

Domestic:

• 2026: 

  • 오염물질 관리 시스템 및 방법 (Pollutant Emission Concentration Prediction System and Method). 10-2024-0058479. 대한민국 (The Republic of Korea). 

• 2023:

  •  오염물질 배출 수준 산정 시스템 및 방법 (Pollutant Emission Concentration Prediction System and Method). 10-2023-0021417. 대한민국 (The Republic of Korea). 

H. PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

• Editorial Service:

Associate Editor:  Weather, Climate, and Society (2019-present)

Advisory Panel: Environmental Research Letters (2024-2025)

Editorial Board Member: Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2025-2027)

Chief-in-Editor: Atmosphere-Korea (2026-2027)

• Committee Member:

Korean Meteorological Society: International Cooperation Committee Member (since 11/2019)

• Reviewer

Grants: NSF Hydrologic Sciences ad hoc reviewer (2017), National Research Foundation of Korea (2022-2026)

Peer-reviewed Research Article Journals: Science, Nature Communications, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Atmosphere, Environmental Research Letters, Geophysical Research Letters, Hydrological Sciences, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, Hydrology Research, International Journal of Climatology, Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, Journal of Hydrometeorology, Journal of Hydrology, Journal of the American Water Resources Association, Natural Hazards, PLOS ONE, Water, Water Policy