Congratulations to our 2024–2025 academic scholarship winners: Nehal Ansh Srivastava (PhD, ASU), Shradda Sharma (M.S., ASU), and Natalie Marie Yurek (B.S., UA).
Thanks to the review committee — Paul Whitefield, Enrique Vivoni, Gary Burchard, and Alex Wood — for their time and effort. This year was a great year for our program. Each of the three Arizona universities represented, and we had a total of 17 applicants (5 from NAU, 8 from ASU, and 6 from UA).
Nehal Ansh Srivastava
PhD candidate, Hydrosystems Engineering, ASU
Nehal’s academic journey, characterized by a passion for addressing water-related challenges, has been shaped by her experiences growing up in India, where she witnessed firsthand the profound impacts of hydrologic extremes on communities. She began her higher education at Manipal Institute of Technology in India, where she earned a B.Tech. in civil engineering; she later earned a master’s degree at ASU, focusing her research on improving the utility of weather radar for spatial frequency analysis of extreme precipitation, as published in the Journal of Hydrology. This work highlighted how quantitative estimates using high-spatial-resolution radar can enhance the statistical characterization of extreme precipitation, directly influencing infrastructure design. Currently, her doctoral research delves into the complex interplay between severe weather events and urban infrastructure resilience. Her work aims to unravel how severe storm events trigger cascading failures across stormwater, power, and transportation infrastructure, with the goal of proposing fail-safe solutions. Nehal has been recognized for her academic achievements through various awards and fellowships, including the University Graduate Fellowship and Engineering Graduate Fellowship at ASU. Looking ahead, she envisions a career that bridges the gap between cutting-edge hydrological research and real-world applications.Shraddha Sharma
M.S. Student, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, ASU
Originally from Kathmandu, Nepal, Shraddha completed her undergraduate studies in civil engineering at Tribhuvan University, Nepal. She discovered hydrology during her final years there, working with long-term projections of global climate models and their impacts on agriculture. Shraddha is currently pursuing a master’s in hydrosystems engineering at ASU. A graduate research assistant, she works under Dr. Enrique Vivoni to characterize the effects of the Colorado River drought declarations on the agricultural sector of Arizona using remote sensing.
Natalie Marie Yurek
B.S. Student, Hydrology and Water Resources, UA
Natalie is a senior at the UA studying hydrology and atmospheric science. She is passionate about weather, water resources, and sustainability and has gained experience in these fields while participating in research at the UA as well as acting as the 2023 Halpenny intern. She plans to graduate this coming spring and continue her education by flight training to become an instrument rated pilot.