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Daniel Wright

Daniel Wright

Arno Lenz Memorial Associate Professor of Water Resources Engineering
Graduate Program Associate Chair
Site Director, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Convective Storms

Daniel Wright is the Arno Lenz Memorial Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research, teaching, and outreach focuses on extreme rainfall, floods, and how both are influenced by meteorology, urbanization, and climate change. His work has been supported through numerous research grants including a NASA Postdoctoral Program fellowship at Goddard Space Flight Center and a National Science Foundation CAREER, while his research achievements have been recognized via an American Geophysical Union Early Career Award and a Science and Technology Project of the Year from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. He co-founded the Infrastructure Working Group within the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts and is a co-author on the 5th National Climate Assessment, which provides a comprehensive overview of climate change and its past, present, and future impacts on the United States. He is the founding site director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Convective Storms, a new partnership between Northern Illinois University, UW-Madison, the National Science Foundation, and nearly a dozen insurance companies.

  • PhD 2013, Princeton University
  • BS 2005, University of Michigan
  • MS 2005, University of Michigan

  • Satellite and ground-based rainfall remote sensing
  • Rainfall and flood processes at urban and regional scales
  • Computationally-intensive simulation for probabilistic natural hazards risk assessment
  • Statistical, stochastic, and physical hydrology
  • Modernization of stormwater and flood management theory and practice

  • 2024 University of Wisconsin-Madison, Arno Lenz Memorial Professorship
  • 2023 University of Wisconsin-Madison, Vilas Faculty Early Career Investigator Award
  • 2021 Natural Hazards Section, American Geophysical Union, Early Career Award
  • 2020 University of Wisconsin-Madison, Exceptional Service Award
  • 2020 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Science and Technology Project of the Year
  • 2018 National Science Foundation, NSF CAREER Award
  • 2014 NASA , Postdoctoral Program Fellowship Award
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering, Overall Winner, Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring

  • CIV ENGR 415 - Hydrology (Fall 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 699 - Independent Study (Fall 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 790 - Master's Research or Thesis (Fall 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 890 - Pre-Dissertator's Research (Fall 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 919 - Seminar-Hydraulic Engineering and Fluid Mechanics (Fall 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 990 - Thesis (Fall 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 999 - Advanced Independent Study (Fall 2025)
  • ENVIR ST 990 - Research (Fall 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 699 - Independent Study (Summer 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 790 - Master's Research or Thesis (Summer 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 890 - Pre-Dissertator's Research (Summer 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 990 - Thesis (Summer 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 999 - Advanced Independent Study (Summer 2025)
  • ENVIR ST 990 - Research (Summer 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 311 - Hydroscience (Spring 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 890 - Pre-Dissertator's Research (Spring 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 919 - Seminar-Hydraulic Engineering and Fluid Mechanics (Spring 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 990 - Thesis (Spring 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 999 - Advanced Independent Study (Spring 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 516 - Hydrologic Data Analysis (Fall 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 619 - Special Topics in Hydrology (Fall 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 890 - Pre-Dissertator's Research (Fall 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 919 - Seminar-Hydraulic Engineering and Fluid Mechanics (Fall 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 990 - Thesis (Fall 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 890 - Pre-Dissertator's Research (Summer 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 990 - Thesis (Summer 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 311 - Hydroscience (Spring 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 890 - Pre-Dissertator's Research (Spring 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 919 - Seminar-Hydraulic Engineering and Fluid Mechanics (Spring 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 990 - Thesis (Spring 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 415 - Hydrology (Fall 2023)
  • CIV ENGR 890 - Pre-Dissertator's Research (Fall 2023)
  • CIV ENGR 990 - Thesis (Fall 2023)