Position Title
Project Scientist
Dr. Valbuena Mateus, an engineer and scientist dedicated to environmental preservation, earned his Ph.D. at the University of California, Davis. His Ph.D. research, conducted with Dr. Geoffrey Schladow and Dr. Fabián Bombardelli, delved into the physical processes within stratified fluids and their impact on water quality. Dr. Mateus is committed to advancing understanding of the interactions between complex natural fluid motions and their impacts on aquatic ecosystems and to developing effective engineering and science-based solutions for their restoration and preservation. His work integrates field experiments with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to quantify and predict lake motions and ecological responses. Currently, Dr. Mateus is investigating river inflow dynamics in stratified lakes, focusing on their fate and transport and the implications of various loading scenarios. Additionally, he is developing a three-dimensional numerical model of the mercury cycle in lakes to better characterize mercury processes in spatially heterogeneous and highly dynamic environments. Furthermore, Dr. Valbuena Mateus is working on a pilot project to rehabilitate Clear Lake, CA, by implementing a hypolimnetic oxygenation system. He also contributes to research at TERC by managing the Real-Time Long-Term Monitoring Program.
Dissertation: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2gf831jf#main Embargoed until December 2028.