Rate My Professor Kei Yoshimura

Kei Yoshimura is Professor of Hydrology in the Division of Environmental Studies, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, and Professor in the Department of Human and Social Systems, Institute of Industrial Science, as well as at the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute. He received his BEng from the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Tokyo in 2000, MSc in Engineering from the Department of Civil Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering in 2002, and PhD from the Graduate School of Engineering in 2006. His career began as a Technical Research Fellow at the Japan Science and Technology Agency from 2002 to 2004, followed by Research Associate at the Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo from 2004 to 2008. He served as Visiting Scholar from 2006 to 2008 and Assistant Project Scientist from 2008 to 2010 at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego. Since 2010, he has been Associate Professor and later Professor at the Institute of Industrial Science and Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo.

Yoshimura's research centers on stable water isotopes as tracers for Earth's hydrological cycle processes, including dynamical downscaling, data assimilation, land surface modeling, climate change, paleoclimate, satellite observations, and flood prediction. His work elucidates atmospheric vapor transport, in-cloud processes, and precipitation isotope variations using isotope-incorporated global and regional climate models. Notable publications include 'Regional downscaling for stable water isotopes: A case study of an atmospheric river event' (Journal of Geophysical Research, 2010), 'Dynamic processes governing lower-tropospheric HDO/H2O ratios as observed from space and ground' (Science, 2009), 'Historical isotope simulation using Reanalysis atmospheric data' (Journal of Geophysical Research, 2008), and recent contributions such as 'Water Isotope Model Intercomparison Project (WisoMIP): Present-Day Climate' (Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 2026) and 'The timing of unprecedented hydrological drought under climate change' (Nature Communications, 2022). He was awarded the 16th JSCE Hydraulic Engineering Thesis Award in 2014. With over 8,000 citations, his research significantly impacts hydrology, atmospheric science, and climate studies.