Julie Shortridge

Julie Shortridge is an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Her work bridges academic research and practical application through Virginia Cooperative Extension, focusing on water resource management challenges in humid climates.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Geography and Environmental Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 2016
• M.S.E. in Geography and Environmental Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 2012
• B.S. in Environmental Engineering Science, University of California – Berkeley, 2005

Dr. Shortridge's research focuses on water resources engineering and management, climate change impacts and adaptation, and risk and decision analysis in water systems. She employs systems engineering methodologies including risk analysis, data analytics, statistical modeling, and optimization to address water resource challenges. Her work spans both physical infrastructure and human decision-making aspects of water systems, with a particular emphasis on uncertainty surrounding climate change projections and their impacts on water availability.

Her recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward integrating machine learning with traditional hydrological modeling, addressing climate change adaptation in agricultural water management, and developing robust decision frameworks for water infrastructure planning under uncertainty. These works span multiple domains including irrigation efficiency, flood-induced migration, water withdrawal prediction, and climate service evaluation.

Selected Awards:

• United States Fulbright – University of Oulu (Finland) Research Scholar 2024-2025
• Global Opportunity Initiative Fellow, Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 2021
• ASABE Blue Ribbon Award for Outstanding Educational Aid, 2018

Dr. Shortridge actively mentors graduate students, with several PhD and Master's students completing research under her guidance, including Laljeet Sangha who successfully defended his PhD in December 2022. She leads multiple research projects including USDA-funded initiatives on precision irrigation and nitrogen management, NSF-funded work on agent-based modeling of migration and sea level rise, and projects focused on climate tipping points in socio-environmental systems. Her extension work translates research into practical guidance for agricultural producers and water managers across Virginia.

She directs the Water Systems Lab at Virginia Tech, which brings together engineering, environmental science, and social science approaches to address water resource challenges in a changing climate. The lab actively recruits MS and PhD students for research positions focused on climate resilience in agricultural and water systems.