Omid Bozorg-Haddad's research focuses on the analysis, planning, design, and operation of complex water resources systems. He combines simulation models with advanced optimization — particularly nature-inspired and evolutionary algorithms — to address problems in reservoir operation, irrigation and agricultural water management, hydropower, and integrated basin planning.
He is widely recognized for advancing metaheuristic optimization in water resources, including the development of the Honey-Bees Mating Optimization (HBMO) algorithm and the application of methods such as the Water Cycle Algorithm to the optimal operation of reservoir systems. More recently, his work has expanded into climate-change adaptation, the water–energy–food nexus, hydropolitics of transboundary rivers, and multi-attribute decision-making under deep uncertainty.
Scholarship and impact
Across his career he has produced an extensive body of work, including:
- 400+ peer-reviewed journal articles in water resources and systems engineering
- 100+ books and book chapters with leading publishers including Springer, Wiley, and Elsevier
- Supervision of 100+ M.Sc. and Ph.D. graduates, many now active researchers and practitioners
Approach
A consistent thread runs through this work: turning hard, high-dimensional water management problems into well-posed optimization models, then solving them with algorithms that are both rigorous and practical for real decision-making. The goal is methods that help engineers and policymakers plan water systems that stay reliable as climate, demand, and policy change.