Boualem Hadjerioua, Ph.D., F.ASCE, lead water power technology and senior research engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University, has been named a Fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction.
Hadjerioua is considered one of the leading national and international authorities on water power, water resource analysis, and integrated river systems, and has over 30 years of demonstrated proficiency in civil engineering and water resources engineering. His exceptional professional experience and innovation in large-scale water resources river systems and water quality modeling has helped to turn the page on how we can approach such complex problems in the future.
Through his research at ORNL, Hadjerioua leads and manages highly qualified teams of scientists and recognized national and international industry and academic experts to address small-scale to national-scale water resources engineering projects for the Department of Energy (DOE). His specific focus is developing innovative processes, decision-support tools, analysis methods, and new technologies to support DOE in meeting the nation’s renewable energy goals and to enable holistic management of water-energy infrastructure and natural resources. He is the national technical lead expert supporting U.S. State Department water resources–related projects in Southeast Asia in coordination with the DOE Office of International Affairs.
Hadjerioua has been an active member of ASCE for about 25 years. He has served as chair of various professional and technical committees in addition to serving as the selection chair for an EWRI/ASCE award committee. He also serves as a peer reviewer for several ASCE journals. Hadjerioua has published about 150 technical publications throughout his career.
His innovative approaches and engineering solutions were recognized through his selection for four Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) President Salute to Excellence awards, which he received from 2002 to 2008.
As a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering at Vanderbilt University, Hadjerioua is passionate about educating the younger generation and enabling their advancement in civil engineering and water resources engineering. He enjoys the mentoring process of early-career students and seeing them become successful in their own lives and careers. Many students of his are currently in well-respected positions in the government and in nongovernment sectors.
Early in his career, he taught students basic engineering courses, such as fluid mechanics and water resources engineering. Throughout it he has continued advising, guiding, and serving as a committee member for Ph.D. students and has been particularly engaged in encouraging future female doctorate-level civil engineers, given the historic paucity of female engineers.
Hadjerioua received Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in civil engineering and engineering mechanics from the University of Arizona, where he has been named a Distinguished Alumni, and earned a B.S. in hydraulics from the National Polytechnic School of Algiers.
