Dr. Acero Triana is an Assistant Project Scientist in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Riverside. He completed his PhD in Agricultural and Biological Engineering with a concentration in Computational Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and an MSc in Applied Hydrometeorology at the Russian State Hydrometeorological University (RSHU). Since joining UCR, Dr. Acero Triana has developed a research portfolio centered on understanding ecohydrological processes in highly managed agroecosystems and lake-watershed systems. His work integrates hydrologic models and tools (including SWAT/SWAT+, SWAT-MODFLOW, ParFlow-CLM, and EcoSLIM), machine learning, geospatial analysis, and high-performance computing to investigate groundwater-surface water interactions, mountain system recharge, irrigation-driven hydrologic dynamics, and the impacts of climate variability and land-use change.

He has led and contributed to projects in basins across California, including the Salton Sea and Kaweah River watersheds, focusing on recharge pathways, depletion mechanisms, and drivers of hydrologic change. His research also extends to improving streamflow predictions under climate change using advanced data-driven methods. Broadly, the objective of his work is to develop robust, data-informed decision-support systems that help resource managers and stakeholders assess adaptive strategies to enhance watershed ecosystem services amid environmental change.