Featured Researcher

Dr. Francina Dominguez

Dr. Francina Dominguez holds joint appointments at the University of Arizona, as an Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Hydrology and Water Resources and as a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. She received her PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2006 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Dominguez also obtained her MS at the University of Illinois in 2003 and received her BS in Civil Engineering from Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia in 1999.

Her PhD work, under the supervision of Illinois Professor Praveen Kumar, investigated precipitation recycling as a mechanism for ecoclimatological stability through local and non-local interactions. Precipitation recycling remains a research interest for Dr. Dominguez, but now her interests have broadened to the general question of “where does precipitation originate, and where does it eventually fall”. She is also currently involved in evaluating the effect of climate change on the future water resources for the Southwestern United States – a region that will likely face increased aridity in the future.

Her current grant-funded work, in which she is co-PI with Dr. Christopher Castro, involves the use of regional atmospheric modeling to improve short and long-term forecasting capability of the North American Monsoon System, one of the crucial features of climate in the Southwest.

Dr. Dominguez was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, where she developed a passion for hydrology and a love of the outdoors and salsa dancing.  Dr. Dominguez is a 2007 CUAHSI Early Career Fellow and a member of the Hydrologic Synthesis Team.

For more about Dr. Dominguez, including contact information, visit her Web site.