In September 2024 I was guest of the China Institute for Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR). During my stay I delivered (i) a keynote lecture “Water Security and Sustainable Development: A Performance-Based Approach for a Resilient Future” at the 40th Anniversary of IRTCES: Work Together to Build a Clean and Beautiful World, Beijing, China, September 23, 2024; (ii) an invited lecture “Navigating Flood Risks” at the No 8 High school, Beijing, September 23, 2024; and (iii) a keynote lecture “Some Ideas on River Ethics” at 3rd Asia International Water Week: Enhancing Our Future Water Security”, 2nd Global River Forum, Beijing, China, September 25, 2024. Talking to high school kids was a great experience.

October 10, 2024

In August 2024, the “Updated science-wide author database of standardized citation indicators was published. This is publicly available database of top-cited scientists (out of 6 880 389 from all disciplines) that provides standardized information on citations, h-index, co-authorship adjusted hm-index, citations to papers in different authorship positions and a composite indicator (c-score). The ranking of scientists can be found in the following link . My name has been included in the list (about 2,000 spots up from last year), and my position on the list still puts me in the top 0.4% of World's scientists. I am very proud of this personal achievement.

Oct 10, 2024

Following flash flooding across Ontario over the second week of July, I have been asked to provide expert comments to media including CTV National News, CTV London, CBC News Network, CBC Toronto, Global News, London Live radio and Corus national radio. All recordings can be accessed here (go to In the media section).

July 18, 2024

Covalence global is an organization of young minds committed to climate actionism and vigorous action to combat the climate crisis. Covalence started as a small Bay Area beach cleanup organization and in 2022 went global. They created an international network, led global events, and initiated projects - all related to climate action and youth leadership. I was pleased they invited me to their Climate Map podcast. We talked about Systems Analysis in Flood Risk Management. Podcast video and transcript are available here

July 13, 2024

Research.com, a leading academic platform for researchers, has just released the 2024 Edition of their Ranking of Best Scientists in the field of Environmental Sciences. I have been ranked #74 in Canada and #1725 in the world and received the Environmental Sciences Leader Award for 2024. The full ranking for Canada is available here. The full world ranking is available here.

May 28, 2024

I have been ranked by ScholarGPS at #123 in Civil and Environmental Engineering, #3 in Sustainable management, #6 in Water resources and #19 in Water resource management from 30 million scholars worldwide. ScholarGPS celebrates Highly Ranked Scholars for their exceptional performance in various Fields, Disciplines, and Specialties. My publication record, the high impact of my work, and the quality of my scholarly contributions have placed me in the top 0.05% of all scholars worldwide. You can view my scholar profile and rankings here.

May 28, 2024

On April 1st I presented an invited lecture to "Watersheds Canada". The lecture was discussing Flood Impact Maps and included a live demonstration of Floodmapviewer web-based tool. The recording of the lecture is available at my YouTube channel.

April 5, 2024

On March 28th I presented an invited lecture at Western Complex Systems Conference 2024. The conference explored the application of complexity theory and systems thinking across disciplines. Over vast diversity in academic fields, methodologies, and domain expertise, our common thread is curiosity about the ways that nonlinear dynamics and systemic thinking invite us to understand and respond to our world. My lecture explored "How Appropriate is the Food-Energy-Water Nexus Approah for Modelling Global Change". The recording of the lecture is available at my YouTube channel.

April 6, 2024

On March 18th I gave 13 interviewes to CBC radio (Toronto, Ottawa, Sudbury, Charlottetown, Moncton,Newfoundland, Yellowknife, Edmonton, Vancouver, Kamloops, Regina, Kelowna and Iqaluit) discussing potential spring flooding across the country and impact that changing climate is bringing. The focus of the discussion was on the level of preparedness of our municipalities. It was a very interesting experience to "fly" over the country in two hours. The recording of one interview is available at In the media section of my Bio page. I'm interested in hearing your thoughts. Feel free to share your comments on X (twitter), either @SP_Simonovic or @ICFM_SPS.

April 5, 2024

ICFM10 under the title Adapting to Global Change: Innovative Approaches to Flood Management and Resilience will be organized on May 20-22, 2026, London, Ontario, Canada and hosted by the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction ICLR and Western University Faculty of Engineeering WesternEngineering. The primary objectives of the conference are to delve into contemporary flood management issues such as: 1. Global Change Impacts: Explore the evolving patterns of extreme weather events, population growth, migration, and land use changes and their impact on flood frequency and intensity. 2. Resilience to Flooding: Focus on the capacity of communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems to endure, adapt to, and recover from the impacts of flooding events. 3. Urban Flooding: Address the challenges posed by rapid urbanization, inadequate infrastructure, and urban planning in mitigating and managing floods in urban areas. 4. Ecosystem-based Approaches: Highlight the role of natural ecosystems in flood prevention and management, emphasizing sustainable and nature-based solutions. 5. Data Integration and Modeling: Discuss advancements in data collection, analysis, and modeling for accurate flood prediction and risk assessment. 6. Policy and Governance: Examine the role of effective policies, governance structures, and international collaboration in mitigating the impacts of floods.

Visit the ICFM10 website for detailed information and pre-registration. Looking forward to seeing you in London in 2026.

March 11, 2024

Recently, I was approached to provide insights on London City (Ontario) Council's decision to permit development of a strip mall in the floodplain. My stance is that this decision is ill-advised from a policy standpoint. You can visit my In the media section of my Bio page or my YouTube channel for a brief interview with CTV London for further details. I'm interested in hearing your thoughts. Feel free to share your comments with X (twitter), either @SP_Simonovic or @ICFM_SPS.

March 11, 2024

During the special event and visit to IWHR on September 13 the President of IWHR, Prof. Jing PENG, presented me with the highest honor of Eminent Scholar of IWHR for my contributions to research and collaboration with the IWHR. Click here to see the appointment letter.

Sep 28, 2023

During my September visit to Nanjing I was presented with the Honorary Professorship appointment with the Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute. I presented an academic lecture at the "Water Science Frontier Forum" at NHRI. Vice President of NHRI, Prof. WU Shiqiang, attended the lecture and awarded me the appointment letter of NHRI Honorary Professor on behalf of NHRI. Ms. SUN Feng, Deputy Director International Cooperation Office hosted the lecture attended by representatives of research departments and graduate students of NHRI. Click here to see the appointment letter.

Sep 28, 2023

Recently I participated in a series of interviews shedding light on the critical issue of infrastructure under stress due to the intensifying impact of wildfires, floods, and heatwaves. These natural disasters are posing unprecedented challenges to Canadian communities, and I offered some insights and solutions to ensure the resilience and sustainability of our vital infrastructure systems. My focus was on the pressing need for strategic planning, innovative technologies, and collaborative efforts to safeguard our roads, bridges, power grids, and other crucial facilities from the growing threat of climate-induced disasters. The discussions highlighted the importance of adopting adaptive infrastructure designs that can withstand the changing climate conditions and mitigate potential damages, ensuring the safety and well-being of our citizens. You can visit my In the media section of my Bio page for Toronto Star article, and CTV interview.

August 2, 2023

The 2023 Edition of Ranking of Top Scientists in the field of Environmental Sciences that Research.com released recently here ranked me 1995 in the World and 86 in Canada. I am also recognized with the Environmental Sciences Leader Award for 2023. In the Engineering and Technology Category I am ranked 1407 in the World and 57 in Canada.

Apr 25, 2023

I was invited to and presented a keynote presentation at the 9th International Conference on Flood Management that was organized in Tsukuba, Japan on Feb 19-22, 2023. My presentation is entitled "Systems Approach to Management of Floods: Towards Resilience-Based Approach" and is available on my YouTube channel here.

Feb 25, 2023

I am pleased to announce the successful completion of the 9th International Conference on Flood Management (ICFM9) that was organized in Tsukuba, Japan on Feb 18-22, 2023. The conference brought together over 400 experts and stakeholders from various disciplines from over 30 countries to discuss the challenges and solutions related to flood management. Five plenary sessions, 24 parallel sessions and 90 poster presentations provided for engaging discussions on topics such as building flood resilience, flood risk assessment, early warning systems, flood response planning, and community engagement. I am grateful to all the participants for their valuable contributions and active participation, which made the conference a great success. We hope that the knowledge shared and the connections made during the conference will help to improve flood management practices around the world. The amazing effort of the International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM) as the local organizer, together with the ICFM Ad Hoc Committee (that I am charing) and our sponsors, speakers, and attendees made this conference possible. We look forward to continuing the conversation and working towards effective flood management strategies in the future. Very soon all the presentations, abstracts, and posters will be available at the ICFM website.

Feb 25, 2023

Very proud to be included into the Reuters list of the world’s top climate scientists. To build it, Reuters created a system of identifying and ranking 1,000 climate academics according to how influential they are. Read the article in Western News.

April 20, 2021

If you have 6 minutes, join this video in which I tried to define the complex adaptive system through a story. Visit Complex Adaptive System Lab at Western University.

March, 27, 2021