Biography

Dr. Ralph Wurbs, senior professor in Texas A&M University's Zachry Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, was granted the inaugural Texas Water Lifetime Achievement Award by the Texas Water Journal in 2024.

Dr. Wurbs has been a water resource engineer since graduating from Texas A&M University in 1971. His interest in water resource engineering evolved and grew as he became more involved in the field. After graduating, he joined the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a civil engineer, planning and designing water resources projects. Since 1980, Dr. Wurbs has worked as a professor at Texas A&M, teaching and conducting research in water resource engineering. He also served as associate director for engineering at Texas Water Resources Institute from 2007 to 2012, in addition to being one of the Texas Water Journal's original editorial board members. His research interests include water resources planning and management, hydraulics, hydrology, and water resources systems analysis.

With the Texas Water Lifetime Achievement Award, Dr. Wurbs is being recognized for developing the Water Rights Analysis Package (WRAP) modeling system with his graduate students, under the sponsorship of the Texas Water Resources Institute, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas Water Development, and Fort Worth District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

To learn more about Dr. Wurbs' work, listen to his interview on Talk+Water, read profiles published by Texas Water Resources Institute and Texas A&M University, and peruse his publications.

Articles published in the Texas Water Journal

Water Rights Analysis Package Modeling System, July 7, 2021

Storage and Regulation of River Flows by Dams and Reservoirs, February 22, 2021

Reservoir/River System Management Models, August 23, 2012

Condensing Water Availability Models to Focus on Specific Water Management Systems, September 1, 2010