Rafael O. Tinoco
Primary Research Area
- Water Resources Engineering and Science
Research Areas
For more information
Biography
Rafael O. Tinoco holds a Civil Engineering degree from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (2005). He conducted his graduate studies at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University, where he earned his M.S. (2008) and Ph.D. (2011) in Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Hydrology.
After graduation, Dr. Tinoco worked as a lecturer and postdoctoral associate at Cornell University, before taking a postdoctoral researcher position at the Environmental Hydraulics Institute of Cantabria. He later returned to Cornell University as a visiting instructor, teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses on fluid mechanics and transport and mixing processes, before joining the Faculty at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois during Fall 2015.
Education
- Ph.D. Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, 2011
- M.S. Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, 2008
- B.S. Civil Engineering, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 2005
Academic Positions
- Assistant Professor, University of Illinois, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, August 2015 - Present
- Instructor, Cornell University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, May 2015 - July 2015
- Visiting Instructor, Cornell University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, May 2014 - December 2014
- Postdoctoral Research Associate, Environmental Hydraulics Institute of Cantabria, July 2012 - May 2014
- Postdoctoral Research Associate, Cornell University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, January 2012 - July 2012
- Instructor, Cornell University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, August 2011 - December 2011
Professional Registrations
- International Association of Hydrological Sciences, IAHS, 2008 - Present
- American Geophysical Union, AGU, 2007 - Present
Research Statement
Dr. Tinoco's research focuses on the interactions between hydrodynamics and aquatic ecosystems. His research group employs state of the art experimental techniques coupled with high-resolution numerical modeling to solve fundamental questions about physical and biological processes on Ecohydraulics and Ecomorphodynamics. Understanding such complex phenomena allow us to develop solutions to environmental problems, such as stream restoration and coastal protection, with the objective to maximize both ecosystem health and the services provided by those ecosystems.
Primary Research Area
- Water Resources Engineering and Science
Research Areas
For more information
Books Edited or Co-Edited (Original Editions)
Selected Articles in Journals
- Prada, A.F., George, A.E., Stahlschmidt, B.H., Jackson, P.R., Chapman, D.C. and Tinoco, R.O., 2020. Influence of turbulence and in-stream structures on the transport and survival of grass carp eggs and larvae at various developmental stages. Aquatic Sciences, 82(1), p.16. doi:10.1007/s00027-019-0689-1
- Tinoco, R.O., San Juan, J., & Mullarney, J., 2020, “Simplification Bias: Lessons from Laboratory and Field Data on Vegetation-Flow-Sediment Interactions”, Earth Surf. Proces. Landforms, 45, 121-143, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4743.
- Jin, C., Goldstein E., Zheng, G., Tinoco, R.O., & Coco, G., 2019. "Laboratory experiments on the role of hysteresis, defect dynamics and initial perturbation on wave-generated ripple development", Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 224, 142-153, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2019.05.003
- San Juan, J., Veliz-Carrillo, G., & Tinoco, R.O., 2019, "Experimental observations of 3D flow alterations by vegetation under oscillatory flows", Env. Fluid Mech. 19:1497-1525 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10652-019-09672-2
- Prada, A.F., George, A.E., Stahlschmidt, B.H., Chapman, D.C. and Tinoco, R.O., 2018. Survival and drifting patterns of grass carp eggs and larvae in response to interactions with flow and sediment in a laboratory flume. PloS one, 13(12), p.e0208326. DOI: doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208326
- Leman A., Holland, M., Tinoco, R.O., 2018, "Identifying the dominant physical processes for mixing in full-scale raceway tanks” Renewable Energy, 129(A), 616-628. DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2018.05.087.
- Salim, S., Pattiaratchi, C., Tinoco, R. O., & Jayaratne, R., 2018, "Sediment resuspension due to near‐bed turbulent effects: A deep sea case study on the Northwest Continental Slope of Western Australia". J. Geophys. Res: Oceans, 123. 7102-7119. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JC013819
- Tinoco R.O., & Coco, G. 2018, "Turbulence as the main driver of resuspension on oscillatory flows through vegetation", J Geophys Res: Earth Surface. 123(5), pp.891-904. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JF004504
- Salim, S., Pattiaratchi, C., Tinoco, R., Coco, G., Hetzel, Y., Wijeratne, S. and Jayaratne, R., 2017. The influence of turbulent bursting on sediment resuspension under unidirectional currents. Earth Surface Dynamics, 5(3), p.399. DOI: 10.5194/esurf-5-399-2017
- Tinoco, R.O., & Coco, G., 2016. “A laboratory study on sediment resuspension within arrays of rigid cylinders”, Advances in Water Resources, 92, 1-9, DOI: 10.1016/j.advwatres.2016.04.003.
- Muriel, D.F., Tinoco, R.O., Filardo, B.P., & Cowen, E.A., 2016. "Development of a novel, robust, sustainable and low cost self-powered water pump for use in free-flowing liquid streams", Renewable Energy,91, 466-476. DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2016.01.089
- Tinoco, R.O., Goldstein, E. & Coco, G., 2015. “A data-driven approach as a tool to find physically sound predictors: Application to depth-averaged velocities on flows through submerged arrays of rigid cylinders”, Water Resources Research, 51(2), 1247-1263. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014WR016380
- Garcia, J., Gomez, A.G., Tinoco, R.O., Samano, M.L., Garcia, A. & Juanes, J., 2014. “A 3D model to analyze environmental effects of dredging operations. Application to the Port of Marin, Spain”, Advances in Geosciences. 39, 95-99. DOI: 10.5194/adgeo-39-95-2014
- Tinoco, R.O., & Coco, G., 2014. “Observations on the effect of emergent vegetation on sediment resuspension under unidirectional currents and waves.”, Earth Surface Dynamics, 2(1), 83-96. https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-2-83-2014
- Coco, G., Zhou, Z., van Maanen, B., Olabarrieta, M., Tinoco, R.O., & Townend, I., 2013. “Morphodynamics of tidal networks: Advances and challenges”. Marine Geology, 346, 1-16. DOI: 10.1016/j.margeo.2013.08.005
- Tinoco, R.O. & Cowen, E.A., 2013. “The direct and indirect measurement of boundary stress and drag on individual and complex arrays of elements”. Experiments in Fluids, 54(4), 1-16. DOI: 10.1007/s00348-013-1509-3
- King, A.T., Tinoco, R.O., & Cowen, E.A., 2012. “A k-\epsilon turbulence model based on the scales of vertical shear and stem wakes valid for emergent and submerged vegetated flows”. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 701: 1-39. DOI: 10.1017/jfm.2012.113
- Jaime, A. & Tinoco, R.O., 2006. “Métodos de valuación de externalidades ambientales provocadas por obras de ingeniería (Valuation of environmental externalities in engineering projects), Ingeniería, Investigación y Tecnología, Vol. VII.2, 2006, 105-119, ISSN 1405-7743, in Spanish
Articles in Conference Proceedings
- Tinoco, R.O., Diaz-Gonzalez, D., Blahnik, L., Freitag, B. & Carlstrom, S., “Thermal Mixing at Vegetated Stream Confluences”, 38th IAHR World Congress, September 1-6, 2019, Panama City, Panama.
- King, A.T., Rueda-Valdivia, F.J., Tinoco, R.O., & Cowen, E.A., "Modeling flow and transport through aquatic vegetation in natural water bodies", In Water Engineering for a Sustainable Environment, Proceedings of the 33rd IAHR Congress, Vancouver BC, Canada, August 13, 2009.
- Tinoco, R.O. & Cowen, E.A., “Experimental study of flow through macrophyte canopies”, In Water Engineering for a Sustainable Environment, Proceedings of the 33rd IAHR Congress, Vancouver BC, Canada, pp. 6160-6166. 2009
- Tinoco, R.O. & Cowen, E.A., “Effects of aquatic vegetation density on low speed flows”, Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Ecohydraulics, Concepción, Chile, January 13, 2009. p. 510-515
Pending Articles
- Ranjan, P., Dutta, S., Mittal, K., Fischer, P. & Tinoco, R.O., "Numerical investigation of flow through emergent aquatic-vegetation: Potential improvement for experimental data collection and selection of relevant parameters for vegetation-sediment dynamics", J Fluid Mechanics. Under review.
- George, A.E., Stahlschmidt, B.H., Carlson, C.L., Prada, A.F., Tinoco, R.O., & Chapman, D.C. Development of sensory systems in larval grass carp evaluated by behavior: implications for dispersal and settlement, Journal of Fish Biology. Under review.
Magazine Articles
- Tinoco, R.O., & Jaime, A., 2005. La carrera de Ingeniería Civil: una prospectiva (Expectations of the programs of Civil Engineering). Civil Engineering Journal from the CICM, 425(52), September 2004, in Spanish.
Reports
- Rutherford, C., Pinter, N., Gamez, J., Harder, L., Lobbestael, A., Musgrove, M., Tinoco, R.O., Bernhardt, M., Mofarraj, B., Uong, M.D., & Heddlesten, A. Preliminary Observations of Levee Performance and Damage following the 2015-16 Midwest Floods in Missouri and Illinois, USA. GEER Report.
- Tinoco, R.O., & Jaime, A., 2005. Evolución de las carreras de Ingeniería Civil (Evolution of the Civil Engineering programs), FICA Book series, 2005, in Spanish.
Teaching Honors
- List of Teachers ranked as Excellent by their Students, Fall 2018 (CEE555) (Fall 2018)
- List of Teachers ranked as Excellent by their Students, Spring 2017 (CEE498eh). (Spring 2017)
Research Honors
- NSF CAREER Award (2018)
Other Honors
- Augusto Gonzalez Linares Fellowship to attract international talent in strategic areas, University of Cantabria, Spain (2012 - 2014)