Professor Paul Bates CBE FRS

Paul Bates is Professor of Hydrology at the University of Bristol where he specialises in the science of flooding.  He develops new numerical solutions to the Shallow Water equations and combines these with satellite and airborne data to advance our fundamental understanding of flood dynamics and reduce threats to life and economic losses worldwide.  His work is used by multiple researchers, NGOs, multi-national companies and insurers to manage flood hazard and risk.


Previously, he was Director of the Cabot Institute and Head of the School of Geographical Sciences at Bristol and has spent sabbatical periods at Laboratoire National d’Hydraulique et Environnment in Paris, the EU Joint Research Centre, Princeton University and the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab at CALTECH.


He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, a double winner of the Lloyd's of London Science of Risk prize and in 2019 was made a Commander of the British Empire for services to flood risk management.

Professional position

  • Professor of Hydrology, School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol

Subject groups

  • Engineering and Materials Science

    Fluid dynamics

  • Earth and Environmental Sciences

    Hydrology

Committees Participated Role
Faraday Discovery Fellowships Committee A July 2024 - December 2027 Member
Royal Society Leverhulme Trust Sr. R'search F'ship Panel January 2024 - December 2026 Member
International Collaboration Awards ODA Committee November 2023 - December 2026 Chair
Resilience to Extreme Weather Working Group April 2013 - December 2014 Member