Andean river landscape
Active research · Santa Monica Bay 34.0°N / 118.5°W

Coastal systems,
resilient by design.

PhD researcher at the UCLA Coastal Flood Lab. I work with teams modeling how waves, tides and submerged structures shape the shoreline — and contribute to nature-based solutions, flood early-warning systems, and engineering for vulnerable communities.

Affiliation UCLA · Samueli
Focus Nature-Based Solutions
Field Site Santa Monica Bay
Languages ES · EN · IT
01 — About
Jairo Alejandro Angel Escobar
Jairo Alejandro Angel Escobar

I'm a civil engineer and PhD candidate at UCLA, working at the intersection of hydrodynamic modeling, nature-based solutions, and the engineering practice that helps people live with water.

Before UCLA, I served as a hydrological and hydraulic modeler and project manager in the risk-management industry, primarily within the public sector, including four years coordinating a 14-person technical team at Cali's Disaster Risk Management Agency. Alongside multidisciplinary teams I've contributed to modeling 445 km of the Cauca River, planning 100,000 m³ of wetland dredging, and supervising the construction of a regional resilience headquarters. I also have extensive academic experience as a university professor and researcher, and I hold a master's degree in environmental engineering from Politecnico di Torino with my thesis developed at TU Delft.

Now I'm part of a research team studying how remnant submerged breakwaters can be retrofitted into ecological infrastructure for high-energy coasts. Outside research, I'm an avid triathlete (swim, bike, run) and enjoy reading astronomy and science fiction.

14
person team coordinated at Cali DRM
445 km
of Cauca River modeled 1D/2D
3
degrees · Colombia, Italy, Netherlands
32+
community EWS groups deployed
03 — Selected Projects

Ten years engineering
with water and risk.

Hydraulic modeling · Hazard mapping 2017–19

Cauca River — 445 km hydraulic model & flood hazard zoning

SOBEK 1D/2D hybrid grid, calibrated against the 2010–11 and 2017 floods. Now the reference planning tool for municipalities along Colombia's second-most- important economic river corridor.

My role Modeling, calibration and hazard-map production within a multi-institutional team led by the regional environmental authority (CVC), with Dutch Water Authorities and the YEP programme.
Explore the public map viewer →
Wetland restoration · Ramsar 2017–19

Laguna de Sonso — Ramsar management & dredging program

Channel restoration, sediment control and 100,000 m³ of dredging coordinated for the 24-wetland Ramsar complex on the Cauca River.

My role Hydraulic modeling, design of restoration works and on-site coordination — within a CVC multidisciplinary team of biologists, social workers and community representatives.
Software · Civic infrastructure 2020–24

SATIC — Cali's Flood & Heavy-Rain Early Warning System

A real-time platform integrating climate, water-level and community data with a network of 32+ trained neighborhood response groups.

My role Led the technical office that scoped and supervised the platform, with engineers, software developers and community-relations staff at the City of Cali and partner institutions (IDEAM, DAGMA, CVC, EMCALI, OSSO).
Visit the live platform →
Construction · Supervision 2021–23

South-West Colombia Resilience HQ

Coordinating the construction of a regional disaster-management headquarters through pandemic-era material shortages.

My role Project coordination and technical supervision on behalf of the city, alongside the contractor and structural, geotechnical and MEP design teams.
Drainage design 2016

Palmira Industrial Zone — 4 m³/s drainage system

Sewage and stormwater drainage design for a 100-hectare industrial park.

My role Coordinated a small design team and led the hydraulic sizing and drawing production.
Lab research · Award 2014

Bed-level mapping with structured light (TU Delft)

Low-cost 3D scanner for morphodynamic flume experiments. NCR Days best-poster award.

My role MSc thesis author, supervised by Dr. A. Vargas-Luna and Prof. W.S.J. Uijttewaal (TU Delft), with Politecnico di Torino.
04 — Trajectory

From the Cauca river
to Santa Monica Bay.

2024 →
PhD Civil Engineering · Coastal & Water Resources
UCLA · Samueli School of Engineering · Coastal Flood Lab

Working with the lab team on hydrodynamic and tracer modeling of submerged breakwaters, field instrumentation in Santa Monica Bay, and living-shoreline retrofits for high-energy environments.

2020 — 2024
Technical Manager · Disaster Risk Management Office
Alcaldía de Santiago de Cali · Colombia

Coordinated a 14-person technical team across landslide, flood and wildfire risk. Supervised construction of the South-West Resilience HQ; helped build the city's flood EWS; contributed to a collaborative ML-based landslide prediction model.

2017 — 2019
Water Resources Engineer · CVC
Corporación Autónoma Regional del Valle del Cauca

1D/2D hydraulic modeling of the Cauca River, flood mapping, Ramsar wetland management plans and sediment-control project planning at Laguna de Sonso, working with the agency's planning and field teams.

2015 — 2017
Assistant Professor · Water Resources
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali

Taught fluid mechanics, hydrology, open-channel flow and water/sanitation systems. Helped renovate and instrument the water resources laboratory.

2014
MSc Environmental & Territorial Engineering
Politecnico di Torino · TU Delft research

Thesis at TU Delft Water Lab on structured-light bed-level measurement in morphodynamic flumes. NCR Days best-poster award.

2012
BSc Civil Engineering
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali

GPA 4.54/5.0. Magis and double-degree scholarships.