Piotr graduated from the University of Warsaw in 2018 with a Master’s degree in Physics. His Bachelor and Master theses were focused on computational fluid dynamics applied to model river network growth and the pyrolysis process, respectively. Independently, Piotr as a member of research team in Polish Academy of Sciences completed several industrial research projects for companies representing different branches of industry (including finance, IT, forestry and research funding). He was also actively promoting science among youth as well as teaching in a high school in Warsaw. Apart from science, he enjoys swimming and other water sports.

Research project title:
Unifying different approaches for flood estimation

Supervisor(s):
Philippe Trinh, Paul Milewski

Project description:
The development of accurate models for flood prediction is a key challenge in the modern era. Piotr’s research is motivated by the inability of current methods to predict flooding in small catchments or areas with limited data. Currently used methods include physical, conceptual, and statistical models; often, the underlying assumptions within these approaches are not assessed and the model limitations are unknown. The aim of the PhD is to deeply understand the limitations of these flood models and sources of their inaccuracy. As a part of this analysis, an asymptotic framework is developed to provide scaling laws and analytical predictions over a range of scenarios. This analysis will allow a more direct comparison of the many disparate approaches used in industry. Finally, the project will seek the development of specific computational models that will better handle catchments for which the standard methods are inaccurate.