Rafael O. Tinoco

 Rafael O. Tinoco
Rafael O. Tinoco
  • Associate Professor
(217) 265-6931
3028 Civil Eng Hydrosystems Lab

Primary Research Area

  • Water Resources Engineering and Science

Research Areas

For More Information

Biography

Biographical sketch.

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

  • Associate Professor, University of Illinois, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, August 2023- Present
  • Assistant Professor, University of Illinois, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, August 2015 - August 2023
  • 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 for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research, IAHR, 2009-Present
  • International Association of Hydrological Sciences, IAHS, 2008 - Present
  • American Geophysical Union, AGU, 2007 - Present

Primary Research Area

  • Water Resources Engineering and Science

Research Areas

Books Edited or Co-Edited (Original Editions)

Selected Articles in Journals

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

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, Spring 2023 (CEE459) (Spring 2023)
  • List of Teachers ranked as Excellent by their Students, Fall 2022 (CEE451) (Fall 2022)
  • List of Teachers ranked as Excellent by their Students, Fall 2020 (CEE555) (Fall 2020)
  • 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

  • 2023 Campus Distinguished Promotion Award (2023)
  • NSF CAREER Award (2018)

Other Honors

  • Student award: Chien-Yung Tseng – awarded Best Young Professional Award at the IAHR 9th International Symposium on Environmental Hydraulics. Seoul, Korea (July 2021)
  • Augusto Gonzalez Linares Fellowship to attract international talent in strategic areas, University of Cantabria, Spain (2012 - 2014)