Professor Christopher White
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Personal statement
Professor Chris White is Head of the Centre for Water, Environment, Sustainability and Public Health at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. The Centre undertakes fundamental and applied research that provides novel solutions to some of the most pressing global environmental challenges, including net zero and the circular economy, renewable energy, water resources and waste management, environmental health, and climate resilience.
As a Professor in Climate Extremes and Resilience, his research quantifies and predicts complex cascading and interconnected multi-hazard risks across systems and critical infrastructure. His Engineering for Extremes research group focuses on hydrometeorological natural hazards (floods, droughts and wildfires), multi-hazard risks, predictions and early warnings, climate risk management and climate resilience. He works to help address the challenges posed by these complex climatic risks—from influencing international and national policy to supporting critical national infrastructure owners and operators in reducing impacts and increasing resilience.
Professor White work includes the modelling and prediction of extreme events on both the extended-range 'subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S)' (weeks to months) and climatic timescales (up to the end of the century) using regional high-resolution and global climate projections focused on complex multi-hazard interactions, cross-sectoral cascading physical and societal impacts.
He leads several projects and activities including the new ANTICIPATE European COST Action network CA24144 on extended-range multi-hazard predictions and early warnings (2025-29). He leads multi-hazard interactions and cascading impacts work package of the MEDiate (Multi-hazard and risk-informed system for enhanced local and regional disaster risk management) project (2022-25) and is a partner in the forthcoming TOGETHER (Towards enhanced coordination of disaster risk management and governance through a holistic framework for multi-level interaction and communication) project (2025-28), both funded by the Horizon Europe programme of the European Commission. He was also previously co-lead of the applications sub-project of the World Meteorological Organization’s WWRP/WCRP S2S Prediction Project application sub-group.
| **NEWS** The Engineering for Extremes research group, led by Dr Chris White, was named as the joint-winner of the inaugural Strathclyde Strategic Themes R&KE Impact Awards 2025 !! |
Prize And Awards
- Research Team of the Year - Engineering for Extremes (E4E)
- Recipient
- 25/8/2025
- Resilient Australia Awards: State (Tasmania) 'Commendation' - Tasmanian State Natural Disaster Risk Assessment
- Recipient
- 2016
- Churchill Fellowship
- Recipient
- 2013
- Resilient Australia Awards: National 'Winner' - Climate Futures for Tasmania
- Recipient
- 2012
Publications
- Assessing flash drought development and propagation across the contiguous United States using remote sensing
- Zeraati Masoud, Farahmand Alireza, Seager Richard, Fowler Hayley J, Madani Nima, Parazoo Nicholas, Manning Colin, White Christopher J, Wen Yixin, Mehran Ali, AghaKouchak Amir
- Earth's Future Vol 14 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EF007037
- Impactful weather and multi-hazard events : lived experiences from rural Scotland
- Brett Lou, Cha YoungHwa, White Christopher J
- Climate Resilience and Sustainability Vol 5 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1002/cli2.70035
- Towards nature-positive engineering : nature-based solutions in attenuating coastal hydrometeorological hazards
- Adnan Mohammed Sarfaraz Gani, Kebede Abiy S, Addo Kwasi Appeaning, Dewan Ashraf, Ghosh Tuhin, White Christopher J, Ward Philip J
- Environmental Research Letters Vol 21 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ae3d4d
- Assessing the cascading impacts of natural hazards on Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) using Scotland as a case study
- Cha Younghwa, White Christopher J, Gonzalez Paula L M, Wallace Emily, Harkin David, Brett Lou, Mattu Kanzis, Smith R Sean, Thom Craig, Alix Medlyn D, Olbert Caroline, Burnett Laura, Hampton Elizabeth, Sheppard Andrew, Campbell Alexandra, Rees Gareth, Steller Rachael
- npj Natural Hazards Vol 2 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s44304-025-00161-9
- Rethinking Impact-based Forecasts and Warnings (IbFW) for multi-risks
- Lumbroso Darren, White Christopher J, Brown Emma, Kolusu Seshagiri Rao
- npj Natural Hazards Vol 2 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s44304-025-00157-5
- Co-designing groundwater monitoring through citizen science : insights from a field trial in Malawi
- Robertson Donald, Morse Tracy, White Chris, Ellis Rowan, Nhlema Muthi, Chidziwisano Kondwani, Luwe Kondwani, Musopole Gloria
- XIX World Water Congress (2025)
Teaching
Modules taught:
- CL216 Hydraulics and Hydrology
- CL248 Environmental and Hydraulic Engineering (IJEP)
- CL420 Water Engineering 2
Research Interests
I specialise in understanding complex multi-hazards and cascading risks, incorporating both physical causative and impacts perspectives. My research focuses on hydrometeorological natural hazards (including floods and droughts), predictions and early warnings, climate risk management and climate resilience. This includes the modelling and prediction of extreme events on both the extended-range 'subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S)' (weeks to months) and climatic timescales (up to the end of the century) using regional high-resolution and global climate projections.
Much of my research involves working with end-users to make climate, weather and natural hazards science and information more usable though the exploration of improved applications, communication and promotion of appropriate risk information in support of resource management, emergency management and disaster risk reduction activities.
I am always keen to talk to potential students, collaborators and industry partners about future projects and opportunities.
Professional Activities
- World Water Day 2025
- Speaker
- 24/3/2025
- ISPF-SFC funded Workshop
- Speaker
- 5/12/2024
- Strath Methods series of seminars
- Invited speaker
- 1/9/2022
- Strath Methods series of seminars
- Invited speaker
- 1/9/2022
- Developing a Subseasonal-to-Seasonal Forecasting System for Hydropower Reservoirs in Scotland
- Contributor
- 30/4/2021
Projects
- (3.9k) Refining the methodology for collecting data on the effects of climate change on sleep and mental health in care homes
- Crawford, Megan (Principal Investigator) Tse, Dwight (Principal Investigator) Witte, Kimia (Co-investigator) Dragojlovic-Oliveira, Sonja (Co-investigator) McGill, Grainne (Co-investigator) Quigley, John (Co-investigator) White, Chris (Co-investigator)
- 05-Jan-2026 - 31-Jan-2026
- Towards Enhanced Coordination Of Disaster Risk Management And Governance Through A Holistic Framework For Multi-Level And Cross-Sectoral Interaction And Communication (TOGETHER)
- White, Chris (Principal Investigator) Kamranzad, Bahareh (Co-investigator) Tubaldi, Enrico (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2028
- Post-doctoral research opportunity: cost of climate change adaptation (CXC IQ14-2025)
- White, Chris (Principal Investigator) Calvillo Munoz, Christian (Co-investigator) Roberts, Jen (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2026
- Plausible multi-hazard scenarios for the assessment of interdependent cascading risks in critical infrastructure
- White, Chris (Principal Investigator) Ferguson, Neil (Co-investigator) Tubaldi, Enrico (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2025
- DelugeAI: A review of the emerging opportunities of using artificial intelligence for flood forecasting in Scotland
- White, Chris (Principal Investigator) Atkinson, Robert (Co-investigator) Bertram, Doug (Co-investigator) Nieradzinska, Kamila (Research Co-investigator)
- 05-Jan-2025 - 30-Jan-2025
- Resilient Digitalising Infrastructure (ReDI) SCDT
- Walls, Lesley (Principal Investigator) Patelli, Edoardo (Co-investigator) White, Chris (Co-investigator) Irvine, James (Co-investigator) Strens, Fiona (Co-investigator) Anderson, Heather (Administrator)
- The ReDI (Resilience in Digitalising Infrastructure) SCDT aims to produce ‘new resilience thinkers’ – not just in the graduates we deliver but also in the building of a whole community including staff from partner and stakeholder organisations and academics working in relevant fields.
ReDI will innovate in how the doctoral-level studentships are delivered, aligning ambitions between industry and academics, borrowing from the cohort approach proposed in the original EPSRC CDT and making the most of the freedoms implicit in an independently funding model. Our Industry partners and co-funders are keen to support this programme which aligns with their ambitions, including:
•Partners should together shape high level ‘challenge themes’ to reflect real world context;
•The themes should drive a co-creation process for PhD project definition involving partners, academics and students;
•‘Resilience Foundations’ training upfront should provide students with a shared, baseline understanding of key risk and resilience topics;
•Partners should be engaged with the whole student cohort (although individual students may be industry co-supervised and take on placements);
•A programme of activities should be supported to bring together partner staff with academics, students and other stakeholders to develop shared knowledge and build a community.
Financial summary:
University SCDT funds: £180,000
External funds: £490,000 (Strathclyde share of £980,000 from industry & NPL)
Total Strathclyde project value: £670,000 - 01-Jan-2025 - 30-Jan-2028
Contact
Professor
Christopher
White
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Email: chris.white@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 4366