Rate My Professor Mehdi Khaki

Dr. Mehdi Khaki is an Associate Professor in the School of Engineering at the University of Newcastle's College of Engineering, Science and Environment. He earned a Bachelor of Civil Engineering and a Master of Civil Engineering from the University of Tehran, Iran, completing the master's in 2014. Khaki obtained his PhD from Curtin University between 2015 and 2018, with a thesis entitled 'Integration Frameworks for Merging Satellite Remote Sensing Observations with Hydrological Model Outputs.' His research specializes in data assimilation, geodesy, and satellite remote sensing, focusing on integrating geodetic and remote sensing techniques with hydrological models to advance hydrological understanding across scales from medium- to large-scale river basins to global extents. He employs satellite products such as GRACE terrestrial water storage, radar altimetry, and soil moisture data to investigate inland surface water variations, coastal water level changes, gravity anomalies, and improvements to land hydrological models. Studies encompass global water cycles, water storage changes in regions including Australia, Bangladesh, South America, Africa, Iran, the Nile Basin, and Lake Victoria, analyzing anthropogenic and climatic impacts on water compartments and hydrological droughts.

Khaki authored the book 'Satellite Remote Sensing in Hydrological Data Assimilation' in 2020 and contributed book chapters including 'Improved Remotely Sensed Satellite Products' in 2021 and 2025. Selected journal articles include 'Quantifying Time-Lagged Vegetation Responses to Hydroclimatic Factors in Dam-Influenced Arid Regions Using VAR Modeling and Remote Sensing' (Environmental Management, 2026), 'SWOT Global Bathymetry Modeling Using Deep Neural Networks Trained on Multiple Geophysical Features' (Earth and Space Science, 2025), and 'Remote sensing assessment of dam impact on arid basins in Southern Saudi Arabia: A machine learning and space-for-time approach' (Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies, 2025). He has obtained 16 grants totaling $1,913,284, such as the ARC Discovery Project 'Tracking flood waters over Australia using space gravity data' ($258,579, 2024–2026), Alexander von Humboldt Foundation 'Improved land surface monitoring and forecasting using satellite gravimetry' ($125,000, 2024–2027), and Soil CRC Ltd. 'Toward Digital Mapping of Soil Moisture' ($642,764, 2023–2027). Khaki has supervised six completions and currently oversees three postgraduate students on topics including marine bathymetry using satellite sensors and climate change impacts on the Murray-Darling Basin's water storage.