Water | Interview with Prof. Dr. Athanasios Loukas, the Session Chair of the 8th International Electronic Conference on Water Sciences

1. Could you please briefly introduce yourself?

I am a professor of engineering hydrology—water resources management and development—Head of the Transportation and Hydraulic Engineering Department, Director of the “Hydraulic Works and Environmental Management” Lab, and the Director of the master’s program “Water Resources” at the School of Rural and Surveying Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece (2018–today). Previously, I was affiliated with the University of Thessaly, Greece, where I served as a professor/lecturer (1997–2018), Dean of the Faculty of Engineering (2015–2018), Head of the Department of Civil Engineering (2008–2012), Laboratory Director, and Director of an international master’s program (2010–2018). My research focuses on hydrology, hydrological hazards and risks (droughts and floods), climate change impacts, and water resources management—fields in which I have more than 400 scientific referred international journal publications, conference proceedings publications, books, and technical reports. I coordinated and participated in numerous national and international research programs. Besides my research activity, I have developed a vigorous outreach activity and acted as a mentor for a high number of post-graduate and Ph.D. students.

During my academic studies and career, I received numerous fellowships, prizes, and awards, such as the Fulbright Research Scholarship in 2013. I am ranked within the top 2% of the most influential scientists published by Stanford University based on the impact of my publications and the number of citations they have received throughout my career until 2022. I am also a visiting professor in U.S.A. and European universities.

I am a Section Editor-in-Chief of “Water Resources Management Policy and Governance” of Water (ISSN: 2073-4441), Editor-in-Chief of European Water, and an Editorial Board Member of Water Resources Management and Scientific Review Engineering and Environmental Sciences. Additionally, I am affiliated with national and international scientific organizations such as EWRA and EGU.

I was the Chair of ECWS-3, titled “Hydrological Extremes and Related Risk and Uncertainty” (2018), and ECWS-7, titled “Adaptive Water Resources Management in an Era of Changing Climatic, Environmental and Social Conditions” (2023). I have also organized and participated in several webinars organized by Water.

2. What do you think of the development status and trends of open access publishing?

Open access publishing has continuously increased since it was first introduced (approximately 20 years ago). Initially, it was treated with suspicion by scientists and large/established editorial companies. However, today, it is a respected way of publishing scientific research results and books with high visibility and no restrictions. Large editorial companies (such as Elsevier and Springer) have open access journals in their portfolio today and/or allow authors to publish papers with open access status in their journals (hybrid system). I think that open access publishing will continue to develop, and other publishing types will become open access. The requirement for gold open access publishing of European project results would help in this direction. The major positive thing about open access publishing is the unlimited visibility. However, the cost of open access publishing is quite high, and for scientists in less favorable economic countries and scientists without research funding, the cost is unbearable.

3. What is your impression of the Water Journal?

Water is an open access and interdisciplinary journal focusing on water science and technology. It stands well in the journal ratings of various disciplines (Q1 or Q2, depending on the discipline), but its scores (Impact Factor, Cite Scores, etc.) could be further improved. The strength of Water is that it is an interdisciplinary journal; therefore, it should focus more on interdisciplinary papers.

4. What do you think will be the research hotspots in the field of water in the next few years, and can you describe them to us?

I think that the research hotspots in the field of water in the following years will be:

1. Detailed climate change impacts on hydrology and water resources in various global areas with higher accuracy;
2. Minimization of the uncertainty of water resources (and hydrological) modeling;
3. Use of new remote sensing (satellite and UAV) data for the evaluation of hydrological parameters and environmental status of water bodies;
4. Impacts of land use/land cover change (intensified by climate change) on hydrology and water resources;
5. Development of adaptive water resources management, new national and international water resources policies, and new high-level and local-level water resources governance;
6. Impacts of climate change on extreme hydro-meteorological hazards (i.e., storms, floods, droughts), assessment of risks, and proactive planning;
7. Impacts of extreme hydro-meteorological hazards (also induced by climate change) on agricultural and urban water systems;
8. Interdisciplinary approaches to water resources management, including physical, system, and socio-economic modeling.

The above issues should focus on both water quantity and quality.

5. Can you give any advice on academic research for young scholars in related fields?

The first thing I say to young prospective scholars is to review the literature, be familiar with the current trends in science and engineering, and find a topic (or a scientific field) they would like to work on. Academic research needs knowledge, skills, an unconditional willingness to work, and an ability to find innovative aspects. For these reasons, the academic and/or research work should bring happiness and anticipation to them, although it could be very demanding, time-consuming, and, sometimes, harsh.

6. Could you kindly share your thoughts and outlook on this e-conference with us?

The previous e-conference I chaired (ECWS-7) was an extraordinarily successful conference. In total, 188 papers have been submitted for review, 110 papers were accepted, and 102 papers have been published in the ECWS-7 proceedings (published in Environmental Sciences Proceedings). Three topical webinars (live sessions) have been organized in the framework of ECWS-7. I expect that ECWS-8 will be larger and better than the previous e-conference under the chairing of Prof. Helena Ramos. I anticipate the organization of one live session (webinar) per thematic topic with invited well-known scholars. I look forward to extending our excellent collaboration with the Water and Sciforum people in the organization of ECWS-8.

7. Could you please provide a brief introduction to the session you are chairing, titled “Water Resources Management, Floods and Risk Mitigation”?

This session focuses on innovation in water resources management and hydrological extremes (mainly floods) to address current and future challenges: growing uncertainty, greater extremes, increasing water demands, water scarcity, global change, and related risks. While traditional management practice is still effective, new technologies and approaches are emerging to better protect, regulate, allocate, and recycle water resources; estimate, forecast, and mitigate hydrological extremes (i.e., droughts and floods); assess the inherent uncertainties; and mitigate the associated risks. The sustainable management of water resources in the 21st century requires a comprehensive understanding of the interaction of complex natural and socio-economic components in a changing context.

Introduction of ECWS-8
Conference date: 14–16 October 2024
Deadline for abstract submission: 17 June 2024
Deadline for registration: 11 October 2024
Conference chair: Prof. Helena M. Ramos (Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal)

For more details, please visit https://sciforum.net/event/ecws-8.

For any inquiries regarding the event, please contact ecws@mdpi.com.