Wouter Buytaert is a reader in hydrology and water resources in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He is an expert on the impact of environmental change on the water cycle and its consequences for water supply and flood and drought risk. His work ranges from hydrological process understanding, to computer simulation, decision-support, the science policy interface, and sustainable development. He is working extensively in tropical and subtropical areas, with a particular interest in the Andes and the Himalayas. His work is funded by a large variety of sources, including but not limited to the UK Research Councils, UK DFID, the European Commission, the European Institute of Technology, UNESCO, Interamerican Development Bank, World Bank, the Belgian Development Cooperation, companies and private donors.

Wouter is also a fellow of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change, UK and a member of the NERC peer review college. He is Editor of the EGU journal Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, and Associate Editor of Computers & Geosciences and Frontiers in Earth Science. He receives frequent invitations to speak in international conferences and meetings, both in an academic and a policy context.