Josué Medellín-Azuara

Josué Medellín-Azuara

Associate Director
Faculty

  • Civil and Environmental Engineering

Josue is an Associate Professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Merced, and Associate Director at both the Center for Watershed Science and UC Agricultural Issues Center. Josue Medellin is interested in hydro-economic modeling of regional water resources systems, adaptation to climate change, consumptive use, and economic representation of water demands.

His professional experience includes environmental management positions for industry, and consulting and collaboration for non-governmental organizations such as the El Colegio de Mexico, Natural Heritage Institute, The Nature Conservancy, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Public Policy Institute of California,  Stockholm Environment Institute,  and the World Bank.

He has led hydro-economic studies on adaptation to climate change in California, and water management on the US Mexico border, having developed Baja CALVIN in collaboration with the University of Baja California. Josue is a co-developer for the SWAP and the CALVIN models for water resources management in California. 

Josue serves as the Past Convener Official of the California Water and Environmental Modeling Forum (CWEMF), a non profit and non-partisan organization to advance the usefulness of water and environmental models in California. 

Josue Medellin-Azuara CV (PDF).

Research Interests & Expertise
  • Large Scale Hydro-economic Modeling for Water Management and Policy Analysis
  • Water Management for Agricultural, Environmental, and Urban Uses
  • Agricultural Production Adaptation to Drought and Climate Change
  • Consumptive Water Use In Agriculture Using Remote Sensing
  • Impact Analysis Using Partial and General Equilibrium Models
  • Data Management Software Systems
Membership and Service
  • Agricultural Issues Center
  • California Water and Environmental Modeling Forum
  • Public Policy Institute of California
  • Stockholm Environment Institute
  • The Nature Conservancy
  • UC Merced

Josué Medellín-Azuara's Recent Projects

Crop Economics Map 1998-2010

This website provides preliminary information on irrigated land areas, water use and crop value over various hydrologic boundaries. Information from the California Department of Water Resources (http://www.water.ca.gov/landwateruse/anlwuest.cfm) on land and water use, and economic information from the SWAP model (swap.ucdavis.edu) for 20 crop groups are employed.

Agricultural Production, Water Use and Employment

This program quantifies agricultural production, land use, water use, economic value and employment using optimization approaches such as the SWAP model (http://SWAP.ucdavis.edu) and statistical information.

Advanced Hard Biofuels

Advanced Hardwood Biofuels Northwest (AHB) is a consortium of Pacific Northwest university and industry partners led by the University of Washington. AHB is carrying out research and development to support a system that will use renewable feedstocks like hybrid poplar to produce a suite of products that are currently derived from petroleum. AHB will focus on the development of a renewable bio-based chemical industry. Developing poplar-based biofuels including jet fuel, diesel, and gasoline that can supplement existing fossil fuels is the long term goal. A bio-based chemical and fuel industry will revitalize rural communities through job creation and economic development, decrease the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, and move the nation toward a clean energy and product economy based on renewable materials with a low carbon footprint.

Water Modeling in Agricultural Production

This technical workshop in collaboration with the California Water and Enviornmental Modeling Forum (CWEMF). This workshop presents various alternatives for modeling the economics of water use and water scarcity within an agricultural production setting, with a particular focus on California.

SWAP Model

This website provides and overview and resources on the Statewide Agricultural Production Model (SWAP).