Rate My Professor Leonardo Alfonso

Dr. Leonardo Alfonso is an Associate Professor of Hydroinformatics at the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education within the Engineering faculty. A Civil Engineer graduated from the National University of Colombia, he holds an MSc degree in Water Science and Engineering with specialization in Hydroinformatics from UNESCO-IHE Delft and a PhD degree from Delft University of Technology in collaboration with UNESCO-IHE. Bringing combined consultancy and research experience in water modelling, he has several years of teaching experience in hydroinformatics. Since November 2018, he has served as Coordinator of the Hydroinformatics Specialisation, part of the Water Science and Engineering Master Programme and a component of the Erasmus Mundus Flood Risk Management programme. As Colombia Country Coordinator at IHE Delft, he is a member of the Academic Research Partnership Colombia-The Netherlands and has participated in capacity-building activities in Colombia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Myanmar. He belongs to the SENSE Research School and the Sounding Board of the Orange Knowledge Programme of Nuffic. In the Hydroinformatics and Socio-Technical Innovation department, his work catalyses advancements in ICT, data analytics, modelling, and artificial intelligence for sustainable water management.

Leonardo Alfonso's academic interests and research specializations include hydroinformatics, optimisation of water systems, citizen observatories, flood early warning systems, sensor placement for leak detection and rain gauge networks, drought management, and integration of community-generated data. His key publications feature 'Coupling hydrodynamic models and value of information for enhanced flood early warning systems' (2012), 'Analysing the value of environmental citizen-generated data' (2022), 'An entropy-based approach for the optimization of rain gauge networks' (2021), 'Methodology to Optimally Place Pressure Sensors for Leak Detection' (2022), and 'An optimisation approach for planning preventive drought management in water supply systems' (2024). These contributions underscore his influence in developing resilient socio-technical solutions for water challenges, enhancing institutional and community flood warnings, and promoting data-driven decision-making in water resources engineering. He has led projects such as climate adaptation analyses for coastal zones in Colombia and interdisciplinary fieldwork in flood risk management.