Steven M. Gorelick

Steven M. Gorelick is the Cyrus F. Tolman Professor in the Department of Earth System Science at Stanford University and a Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment. He has been on Stanford’s faculty since 1988 and currently directs the Global Freshwater Initiative, focusing on water resources vulnerability in India, Mexico, Vietnam, Jordan, and the US. His work integrates groundwater management, ecohydrology, and policy analysis.

• PhD, Stanford University (1981) in Hydrology (Hydrogeology)
• MS, Stanford University (1977) in Hydrology (Hydrogeology)
• BA, New College (1975)

Research Interests span coupled human-natural systems modeling for water security, with focus on climate, land-use, and demographic changes affecting urban and agricultural regions. He develops tools for sustainable water management in stressed areas and investigates contaminant transport, aquifer geophysics, and global oil supply dynamics. His Global Freshwater Initiative addresses drought impacts through policy simulations involving taxes, quotas, and water markets.

Publication Trends reveal expertise in transboundary water conflicts, arsenic contamination mechanisms, climate-water-food-energy nexus analysis, and ecohydrologic modeling. His work combines field observations with computational models to explore groundwater-surface water interactions, contaminant mobilization, and policy-driven resource allocation.

Scientific Awards include:

• US National Academy of Engineering (2012)
• AAAS Fellow (2016)
• Guggenheim Fellow (2005)
• AGU Fellow (1990)
• James B. Macelwane Medal (1990)
• Excellence in Teaching Award (2018)

Advising includes serving as Doctoral Dissertation Advisor for Ankun Wang and Reader for Brian Rogers, and mentoring postdoctoral fellows Zhi Li and Qing Yang. He leads the Stanford Center for Aquifer Simulation and has held visiting positions at ETH Zurich, University of Cambridge, and CSIRO.