A CELEBRATION OF LIFE: Hubert Morel-Seytoux, Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe, Jorge Ramirez

Those fortunate enough to have known these giants have learned much from their wisdom and benefited greatly from their immense knowledge. We mourn the loss of these remarkable professionals and outstanding human beings and take solace in the fact that their indelible legacy will live on.

A special session at the 2023 AGU Hydrology Days will be held on Wednesday March 22, 2023 from 9am – 12pm (MT) to acknowledge and celebrate these hydrology legends. Please contact: hydrologydays@engr.colostate.edu for more information.

Dr. Hubert Morel-Seytoux – Professor, Colorado State University (1932 – 2022) & Founder AGU Hydrology Days (1980)


Hubert Morel-Seytoux was a faculty member at Colorado State University from 1966 to 1991. After earning his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1962, he became a research engineer for the Chevron Oil Field Research Company from 1962 to 1966. His research in petroleum recovery led to his interest in hydrology. While serving as chair of the American Geophysical Union’s Front Range branch, Morel-Seytoux founded Hydrology Days in 1980 to bring together regional hydrology-focused scientists, avoid the expense of traveling to far-away conferences and provide students with an opportunity to participate in a professional meeting. Hydrology Days is still hosted by CSU in partnership with AGU and going strong, 42 years later.

Following his tenure at CSU, Morel-Seytoux moved to California and became a hydrology consultant. He did consultancy work for agencies in Senegal, Saudi Arabia, France, India and throughout the United States. He has authored or co-authored more than 150 publications that have been cited more than 2,300 times. He received an ASCE best paper award for a study in Water Resources Planning and Management in 1999. Morel-Seytoux was a member of the American Geophysical Union, American Society of Civil Engineers, Society of Petroleum Engineers, American Meteorological Society and American Society of Agricultural Engineers. He received the Colorado State University College Engineering Abell Faculty Research Award in 1985. Morel-Seytoux was born in Calais, Artois, France. He turned 90 on Oct. 6, 2022 and passed away Oct. 22, 2022.

Link to publications: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hubert-Morel-Seytoux

  • Note link above does not include this unpublished book: Morel-Seytoux, H. J. (2021). Combined Analytical and Numerical Methods in Regional Hydrologic and Water Resources Models”, unpublished book, contract signed with Cambridge Scholars Publishing in December 11, 2021.

Jorge A. Ramirez – Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University (1954 – 2020)


For nearly 20-years Dr. Ramirez served as the organizer of the internationally recognized, annual Hydrology Days Conference which brings world renowned experts to the CSU campus each spring semester. He took on Hydrology Days and raised the bar to serve students and university engagement clients at a higher level.

Over nearly three decades of service to Colorado State University, Dr. Ramirez led numerous research, education and training efforts to establish CSU as a leader in water science and technology.  His academic scholarship substantially expanded the University’s research reputation in the fields of hydrology, hydrometeorology, and water resources planning and management, benefiting not only CSU students and his fellow faculty members, but the profession as a whole. Ramirez received the Oliver Pennock Distinguished Service Award from Colorado State University in 2019 for recognition of his academic scholarship and achievements.

Link to publications: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jorge-Ramirez-14

Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe – Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University & Texas A&M University (1942 – 2022) 


The prominent hydrologist (and father of modern eco-hydrology) Ignacio Rodríguez-Iturbe, passed away on September 28, 2022. He had recently retired as a professor from Texas A&M University in College Station, where he was posthumously honored on November 28, 2022. Prior to teaching at Texas A&M.

Dr. Rodriguez-Iturbe was a distinguished professor and leading researcher at Princeton University.
Dr. Rodríguez-Iturbe obtained his civil engineering degree from the University of Zulia in Venezuela. He later earned his Master of Science degree from the California Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. in civil engineering from Colorado State University, where the renowned professor Vujica Yevjevich was his advisor. It was at CSU where his true passion for ecology blossomed and during his time there he discovered its relationship and dynamics to water sciences.

Link to publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GSyUS9wAAAAJ&hl=en

This event is organized by the One Water Solutions Institute at Colorado State University.  For questions or comments regarding Hydrology Days please contact: hydrologydays@engr.colostate.edu