Dr Shasha Han

Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE) – University of Birmingham, 2024

PhD in Hydrology and Water Resources – McMaster University, 2019

MSc in Environmental Science – Beijing Normal University, 2014

Dr Shasha Han completed her PhD at McMaster University (Canada), where her work focused on probabilistic flood forecasting using advanced Bayesian techniques. She contributed to the development of the Canadian Adaptive Flood Forecasting and Early Warning System (CAFFEWS), and predicted future flood inundation by incorporating various sources of uncertainty and accounting for climate change impacts.  Before joining the University of Birmingham, Dr Han worked as a research associate at the University of Oxford (UK), where the focus was on investigating the impacts of urbanisation on river flooding and projecting river flows in the UK considering both urban expansion and climate change. At the University of Birmingham, her research has expanded into diverse areas, including flood non-stationarity, short-term flood prediction, long-term flood projection, integration of machine learning in hydrology, flood and drought alterations, surface water and groundwater interactions, as well as flooding and public health.

Quantitative Analysis of Hydrological Processes (PGT, module lead)

Hydrology and Geomorphology (UG, module lead)

Field Research Skills (UG)

Dissertation Supervision

Personal Tutor

Dr Shasha Han welcomes inquiries from prospective PGR students in her areas of interest.

NSERC FloodNet Project (CAD $5M) Theme 3: Development of Canadian Adaptive Flood Forecasting and Early Warning System (01/09/2014 – 26/08/2019)

Current research group members:

Mohammed Alharbi (PhD; co-supervisor; 2022 - 2026): Integrated analyses of groundwater and surface water – impact of bedform geometry and flood conditions on groundwater-surfacewater interactions

Chenlu Yang (PhD; lead supervisor; 2023 – 2027): Flood futures: how is flood risk evolving in the UK?

Ritesh Moon (PhD; lead supervisor; 2023 - 2027): Integrating machine learning with process-based models to enhance flood forecasting

Saad Al-Yousuf (PhD; co-supervisor; 2023 - 2027): Evolution of the transition between floods and droughts across the UK

Hanqi Zuo (PhD; co-supervisor; 2024 – 2027): Towards the next generation probabilistic flood forecasting system for the UK

Chandni Thakur (Postdoc; co-supervisor; 2025 – 2027): Flood risk and flood forecasting in Kerala and Bihar (India)

Ben Niu (Visiting PhD; host; 2025-2026): Three-dimensional analysis of drought dynamics and their driving mechanisms

Past research group members:

Chenguang Xiao (Data Scientist): Hydrological multi-modal machine learning

Daryl Cortez (Visiting Student): Integrating ML models with human signatures to enhance streamflow forecasting across urbanized catchments

Dan Yang (Visiting Scholar): Runoff hydrodynamics and soil erosion processes in dry-hot regions

• Journal Reviewer for Water Resources Research, Journal of Hydrology, Journal of Hydrometeorology, Hydrology Research, Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, Natural Hazards, Journal of Flood Risk Management, Monthly Weather Review, Frontiers in Water, etc.
• International Editorial Board for Pearl River Journal
• Convener for the EGU session on ‘Hydrological forecasting in urban and regulated catchments’
• Co-convener for the AGU Frontiers in Hydrology Meeting session on ‘interpreting and attributing the drivers of hydrological non-stationarity’
• Membership: British Hydrological Society (BHS), European Geosciences Union (EGU), American Geoscience Union (AGU), and International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS)
• Fellow of Advance Higher Education Academy
• Environmental Science Admissions Tutor