Dragan Savic - Biography#

Prof. Savić is the Global Advisor - Data Sciences, former CEO at the KWR Water Research Institute in the Netherlands, and Professor of Hydroinformatics in the Department of Engineering at the University of Exeter in the UK since 1994. He holds degrees from the University of Belgrade and the University of Manitoba.

Prof. Savić has been honoured nationally and internationally for his outstanding research contributions and leadership in water science and engineering. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institution of Civil Engineers (UK), the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (UK), and a Distinguished Fellow of the International Water Association (IWA). His teaching and research interests are in the theoretical development and application of Artificial Intelligence methods in water, environmental science and engineering. He has published over 400 research/professional papers and reports, co-authored 24 books and book chapters and holds 2 patents. With over 30,000 citations to his name and an h-index 87 (source: Google Scholar), Prof. Savić is among the top 10 most cited scholars worldwide in topics of hydroinformatics, water resources systems, water engineering and floods.

Prof. Savić received the UK Royal Academy of Engineering President’s Award for “Pandemic Services” in 2020. He is the recipient of the Best Seminal Paper Award (2018) and the Best Policy Paper Award (2019) from the Americal Society of Civil Engineers, Environmental and Water Resources Institute. He served as the inaugural Chair of the IWA Digital Water Programme Steering Committee (2018-2023), the Chair of the joint IAHR/IWA Hydroinformatics Committee (2013 - 2015), and the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Hydroinformatics (2009-2015). Prof. Savić currently serves as the co-editor-in-chief of the Cambridge Prisms: Water Journal and on the Editorial Boards of the Water and Ecology Journal, and River Journal. His research work has been funded by several agencies and industries worldwide, including the prestigious European Research Council Synergy Grant (2020-2027) and the UK Engineering and Physical Research Council's Advanced Research Fellowship (2001 - 2005).

As an educator, mentor, author and speaker, Professor Savić has directly or indirectly influenced and inspired many scientists, water engineers and policymakers worldwide responsible for water management. He has lectured extensively abroad and given research presentations at institutions on all continents. He has held Visiting Professor appointments at the Universities of Bari (Italy), Novi Sad (Serbia), King Abdulaziz University (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia), the National University of Malaysia and Harbin Institute of Technology (Harbin, China). He is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of Belgrade (Serbia) and IHE Delft (The Netherlands).