Dr. Jessica Eisma

Principal Investigator

My fondest memories from childhood are weekends spent on the lake at our family cottage. I loved spending time out on the water-swimming, tubing, or just splashing about. I followed my love of water throughout school, completing my B.S. in Civil Engineering at Michigan State University and my M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering at Purdue University. I am proud to now be an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington.

My primary research interests are applying remote and meteorological sensing techniques to answer hydrologic questions in arid, semi-arid, and/or urban regions and socio-hydrologic issues related to climate change and water stress. In my free time, I enjoy traveling, hiking. and playing hobby board games.

Current CV


Graduate Students

Junaid Ahmad

If you cannot fly then run, if you cannot run then walk, if you cannot walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” Martin Luther King Jr.

I am an ardent follower of the above-cited quote. Hailing from a remote and underdeveloped area of a beleaguered country (Pakistan), I have observed the detrimental impacts of floods on each facet of life. This inculcated a strong yearning in me to adopt a career in water resources. I have more than 8 years of professional experience in the field of water resources. My Bachelor’s is in Civil Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. I have a Master’s degree in Water Sciences and Engineering with specialization in Hydrology and Water Resources from UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Delft, the Netherlands.

The advent of human-induced climate change has apparently wreaked havoc across the globe. Resultantly, the frequency of floods is also increasing, thus, imperiling socio-economic prosperity. I am interested in studying climate change, extreme climate events with a special focus on spatial and temporal patterns of key weather components like rainfall since it is the key cause of flooding. On the other hand, urban flooding has also surged in recent times. Whereas, urbanization is growing at a breakneck pace and around 65-70% of the global population is anticipated to be living in cities by 2050. This elevates the importance to study the nexus of urban structure and rainfall patterns including temperature vis-à-vis prevailing climate change. Consequently, it will help the policymakers to devise pragmatic policies to avert catastrophic events like floods or circumvent their impacts in urban areas.

I am motivated to learn and use evolving state-of-the-art tools and remote sensing techniques during my research work. I feel the conducive environment for research at the University of Texas at Arlington coupled with the guidance of my supervisor Dr. Jessica Eisma will yield perceptible research outcomes. The ultimate goal will indeed be to convert my research into a meaningful contribution for humanity.

Mahsa Samadi Darafshani

I am a PhD student in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington under the supervision of Dr. Eisma. I have been always thinking about enhancing communities’ standard of living, so Water Resources Management is quite fit with what I have set my soul and heart to. I am excited and proud to work on a NOAA-funded project and focus on the Identification of cost-effective, climate-informed green infrastructure adaptions to reduce flood risk in Houston’s vulnerable communities

Before joining University of Texas Arlington, I earned my M.Sc. degree in Civil Engineering from Civil Engineering department of Isfahan University of Technology, where I was a Research and Teaching Assistant for over five years.

I have conducted research and contributed to various projects related to Hydrology, Water Resources Management, and Water Quality. My research background, papers, and M.Sc. thesis mainly focus on groundwater quality and quantity remediation, and management scenario analysisMy academic profile can be viewed on LinkedIn.

Afiya Narzis

I grew up in a beautiful country (Bangladesh) where rivers are integral to everyday life. Watching how the courses of rivers change the stories of lives around them, I got the aspiration to choose Water Resources Engineering as my major. I am following my dream to be a researcher to solve intricate water-related issues. I have completed my B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Water Resources Engineering from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). My primary research focus is on hydrology, stormwater management, climate change, and the application of GIS & remote sensing in water resources. As a part of Dr. Eisma’s research group, I am developing Green Stormwater Infrastructure strategies to reduce flood runoff and improve water quality for the vulnerable coastal communities of Houston, Texas. I believe the research experience and knowledge I am acquiring as a Ph.D. student in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington will assist me to address water management challenges and provide sustainable solutions in the future.


Undergraduate Students

Interested in gaining some research experience while completing your B.S. at UTA? Send me an email!