Fabián A. Bombardelli, Ph.D.
Professor

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Funded Research Projects

Prof. Bombardelli has brought close to 3.5 million dollars in research funds at the UC Davis, as both PI and Co-PI through 19 projects, as detailed below. Funding sources encompass federal as well as state agencies, and private companies (under sub-contract with local agencies).

As Principal Investigator

  1. "Incorporating sediment-transport capabilities to DSM2," funded by the California Department of Water Resources (CA DWR). Total budget: $109,661. Period: April 1, 2009- March 30, 2011.
  2. "Comparison of flow and transport models for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta," funded by the California Water Resources Control Board. Total budget: $58,580. Period: January 1, 2009-September 30, 2010 (extended).
  3. "Modeling sea water intrusion and trapping at the Russian River, California," funded by the Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA), under subcontract with Phillip Williams and Associates (ESA-PWA). Total budget: $173,796. Period: January 1, 2011-December 31, 2011 (extended).
  4. "Assessment of different approaches for the computation of residence times in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta," funded by the CA Water Resources Control Board. Total budget: $76,413. Period: August 1, 2010-July 31, 2011 (extended).
  5. "Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) study: 2-dimensional (2-D) flow models in flood mapping," funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) via the CA DWR. Total budget: $84,465. Period: May 1, 2013-October 31, 2013.
  6. "Numerical water quality and contaminant modeling (EL-9)," funded by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Total budget: $496,346. Period: January 1, 2016- December 31, 2018 (extended).
  7. "Understanding physical processes and water-quality transport mechanisms in Californian small coastal inlets for resilient coastal systems under scenarios of climate change," funded by UC Mexus. Total budget: $24,358. Period: August 1, 2018-June 30, 2021 (extended).
  8. "California State Water Project Physical and Numerical Hydraulic Modeling," funded by the California Department of Water Resources (CA DWR). Total budget: $399,997. Period: August 15, 2019-August 14, 2024.
  9. "California State Water Project Physical and Numerical Hydraulic Modeling," funded by the California Department of Water Resources (CA DWR). Additional funding: $125,060. Period: August 15, 2019-August 14, 2024.
  10. "Assessment of Long Island silt diversion alternatives via numerical and field methods," funded by the Long Island Property Owners Association (LIPOA), Delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. Total budget: $45,264. Period: September 20, 2022-December 31, 2023 (extended).
  11. "Artificial intelligence applications for forecasting shoreline evolution and flows in small estuaries at the Cali-Baja region," funded by the University of California Alianza MX. Total budget: $49,930. Period: May 1, 2024-April 30, 2026. I also received a gift (PI) from the Hidden Valley Lake Association for $5,000 in 2015. Funding was also secured for the Journal RIBAGUA, in 2023, thanks to the work of Ms. Estíbaliz Serrano, of $25,000.

As Co-Principal Investigator

  1. "Quantifying sediment resuspension linkages to nutrient enrichment in the existing and future Salton Sea," funded by the CA DWR; Prof. S. Geoffrey Schladow, PI. Total budget: $86,498. Period: May 2005-May 2006.
  2. "Quantification and source identification of mercury transport in highways," funded by Caltrans; Dr. Peter Green, PI (Task order 7). Total budget: $260,000. Period: October 1, 2005-September 30, 2006.
  3. "Modeling non-point source contributions of host specific fecal contamination in San Pablo Bay," funded by the UC Water Resources Center; Prof. Stefan Wuertz, PI. Total budget: $60,000. Period: October 1, 2006-September 30, 2008.
  4. "Quantitative pathogen detection and microbial source tracking combined with modeling fate and transport of Bacteroidales in San Pablo Bay," funded by CICEET, the Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology, as co-PI; Prof. Stefan Wuertz, PI. Total budget: $219,709. Period: November 1, 2006-October 31, 2008.
  5. "Predicting and managing changes in water quality in Lake Tahoe," funded by the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA); Prof. S. Geoffrey Schladow, PI. Total budget: $327,363. Period: June 1, 2007-May 31, 2009 (extended).
  6. "Potential for engineered floodplains and wetlands as fine particle BMPs: Case study of Trout Creek and Upper Truckee River," funded by SNPLMA; Prof. S. Geoffrey Schladow, PI. Total budget: $275,178. Period: June 1, 2008-May 30, 2010 (extended).
  7. "Scour monitoring and failure prediction for safe and resilient transportation infrastructure," funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF); Prof. Kenneth Loh, PI. Total budget: $339,733. Period: October 1, 2012-September 30, 2015 (extended).
  8. "Pyrethroids in urban stream sediments: System modeling, recovery rates, and sampling strategies," funded by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR); Prof. Thomas Young, PI. Total budget: $211,856. Period: November 17, 2014-September 30, 2017.

As external collaborator

  1. "Experimental and numerical modeling of air-water flows in hydraulic structures," funded by the National Science Foundation of Portugal; Prof. J. Matos, PI. Total budget: €139,468. February 1, 2010-January 31, 2013. I was listed as a "key member" in the project.
  2. "Study of rheology of concrete-based materials for the development of concrete infrastructure possessing more durability and sustainability," funded by the Chilean National Agency for Research and Development; Profs. Patricio Moreno-Casas and Juan Pablo Toro, PIs. Total budget: Approximately $30,000. Duration: 1 year.

Main Directions of Research

•
 Hierarchical theoretical and numerical modeling of the problem of sediment transport in open channels at the water depth scale. Link 1. Link 2.
•
 High-resolution numerical simulation of bed-load transport in rivers using Lagrangian models. Link 1. Link 2.
•
 Mathematical modeling and numerical simulation of the two-phase flow in stepped spillways and drop shafts.
•
 Sediment transport at large scales, including sediment resuspension in lakes. Link 1. Link 2. Link 3.
•
 Sediment-associated transport of toxic metals in water bodies.
•
 Theoretical and numerical modeling, scaling and observation of bubble plumes.
•
 Theoretical analysis of the fundamental aspects of turbulence in the scour induced by jets on granular beds.
•
 Three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulation of flow and transport in rivers, estuaries, and bays.
•
 Model Verification and Validation (V&V) and Uncertainty Quantification (UQ) of codes.
•
 Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations simulations of flows associated with hydraulic structures.
Invited Seminars

1) “Numerical simulation of 3D free-surface flows: issues, challenges, and applications.” Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, February 25, 2001.

2) “Turbulence in multiphase models for aeration bubble plumes.” Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Ph.D. proposal defense, September 26, 2001.

3) “Theoretical and numerical modeling of turbulent processes in aeration bubble plumes.” Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, September 25, 2002.

4) “Turbulence in multiphase models for aeration bubble plumes.” Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, May 8, 2003.

5) “Turbulence in multiphase models for aeration bubble plumes.” Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Ph.D. defense seminar, September 15, 2003.

6) “Density currents in the lab and the field: learning how to model very complex dense underflows.” Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, May 21, 2004.

7) “Intermediate asymptotics, turbulence, and the equations of fluid dynamics.” Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, May 27, 2005.

8) “Three-dimensional CFD modeling: going from science to engineering.” Northwest Hydraulic Consultants, West Sacramento, August 24, 2005.

9) “Lagrangian models for the motion of particles close to river beds.” Department of Civil Engineering, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile, September 28, 2006 (in Spanish).

10) “Intermediate asymptotics, turbulence, and the basic equations of fluid mechanics.” Department of Civil Engineering, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile, October 2, 2006 (in Spanish).

11) “Modeling density currents in the lab and the field.” Department of Civil Engineering, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile, October 5, 2006 (in Spanish).

12) “Parameterization of flow resistance in Hydraulics.” Department of Civil Engineering, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile, October 5, 2006 (in Spanish).

13) “Models for the computation of the transport and fate of mercury in water bodies.” Department of Civil Engineering, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile, October 6, 2006 (in Spanish).

14) “Incorporating sediment-transport capabilities to DSM2.” Presentation organized by the California Department of Water Resources, Sacramento, October 23, 2007.

15) “Modeling transport and fate of Bacteroidales in San Pablo Bay.” in Workshop “Fecal contamination in San Francisco Bay: New predictive tools for decision makers.” January 25, 2008.

16) “A general framework for the analysis of two-phase flows in hydraulic applications.” United States Army Corps of Engineers Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi, March 21, 2008.

17) “Modeling transport and fate of Bacteroidales in San Pablo Bay - Part II.” in Second Workshop “Fecal contamination in San Francisco Bay: New predictive tools for decision makers.” February 13, 2009.

18) “Incorporating sediment-transport capabilities to DSM2. Development plan.” Presentation organized by the California Department of Water Resources, Sacramento, to the Technical Advisory Committee of the DSM2 Project, July 20, 2009.

19) “An attempt for a unified two-phase flow theory for sediment transport in open channels.” Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, April 10, 2009.

20) “Two-phase flow models of environmental importance: from bubble plumes to sediment transport in open channels.” Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa, April 17, 2009.

21) “Numerical simulation of complex flows: from viscous models to Direct Numerical Simulations.” UnTrim Users Meeting, Trento, Italy, May 12, 2009.

22) “Sediment transport at different scales.” Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Workshop in honor of Prof. Marcelo H. García, August 17, 2009.

23) “Numerical simulation of two-phase flows: from bubble plumes to sediment transport in streams.” Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, October 19, 2009.

24) “Incorporating sediment-transport capabilities to DSM2. Development plan.” Second presentation organized by the California Department of Water Resources, Sacramento, to the Technical Advisory Committee of the DSM2 Project, January 27, 2010.

25) "Time and spacial scales of a migrating rivermouth." Idaho Water Resources Research Institute Seminar Series, Boise, Idaho, April 20, 2010. Televised to the University of Idaho, Boise, University of Idaho, Idaho Falls, and University of Idaho, Moscow.

26) "Understanding and modeling multi-phase flows in the environment: The cases of bubble plumes, sediment transport in rivers, and density currents." Hydrologic Sciences Graduate Group Seminar Series, University of California, Davis, April 29, 2010.

27) "Time and spatial scales of a migrating rivermouth." United States Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District, June 17, 2010.(Download ppt.)

28) "The science and art of modeling estuaries and bays." University of California, Davis, Bodega Marine Laboratory, August 18, 2010.(Download ppt.)

 

Presentations in Other Conferences

1) National Water Congress, La Plata, Argentina, June, 1994.

2) Latin-American Congress on Hydraulics, IAHR, Santiago de Chile, Chile, October, 1994.

3) ENIEF'95, IX Congress on Numerical Methods and their Applications, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, November, 1995.

4) Int. Conf. on Pollution Processes in Coastal Environments, Mar del Plata, Argentina, October, 1996.

5) 3rd Int. Conf. on River Flood Hydraulics, Stellenbosch, South Africa, September, 1997.

6) Fourth World Congress on Computational Mechanics, Buenos Aires, Argentina, July, 1998.

7) World FLOW-3D® User's Conf., Santa Fe, NM, USA, September, 1999.

8) 1999 Int. Water Resources Engineering Conf., ASCE, Seattle, WA, USA, September, 1999.

9) 4th. Int. Conf. on Hydroinformatics, IAHR, Iowa City, IA, USA, July, 2000.

10) Latin-American Congress on Hydraulics, IAHR, Córdoba, Argentina, October, 2000.

11) 3rd. Int. Symposium on Environmental Hydraulics, Tempe, AZ, USA, December, 2001.

12) Hydraulic Measurement and Experimental Methods Conf., Estes Park, CO, USA, August 2002.

13) World FLOW-3D® User's Conf., Santa Fe, NM, USA, September, 2002.

14) 2003 World Water and Environmental Resources Congress, Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI), ASCE, Philadelphia, PA, USA, June, 2003.

15) Pressure Vessel and Piping Division Conf., ASME, Cleveland, OH, USA, July, 2003.

16) ENIEF’04, XIV Congress on Numerical Methods and their Applications, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, November, 2004.

17) XXXI IAHR Congress, Seoul, South Korea, September, 2005.

18) American Physical Society (APS) Fluid Dynamics Division Meeting, Chicago, IL, USA, November 2005.

19) Fourth IAHR Symposium on River, Coastal, and Estuarine Morphodynamics, Urbana, IL, USA, November, 2005.

20) Annual Conf. American Institute of Hydrology, Baton Rouge, LO, USA, May, 2006.

21) Int. Conference on Fluvial Hydraulics, Lisbon, Portugal, September, 2006.

22) Int. Conf. on Advances in HydroScience and Engineering, Philadelphia, PA, September, 2006.

23) McMAT 2007, ASME Applied Mechanics and Materials Conference, June, 2007.

24) World FLOW-3D® User’s Conf., Dallas, TX, USA, September 2007.

25) 5th. Int. Symposium on Environmental Hydraulics, Tempe, AZ, USA, December, 2007.

26) ENIEF'08, XVI Congress on Numerical Methods and their Applications, San Juan, Argentina, November, 2008.

*titles of the papers are specified in the list of publications

Last Update: 04/30/2024

Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering - University of California, Davis
2001 Ghausi Hall, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616