Dr. Hylke Beck teaches climate analytics in the Earth Systems Science and Engineering Program at KAUST. He applies his expertise in flood and drought forecasting and the field of hydrometeorology to quantify and understand the impacts of climate change in Saudi Arabia and improve the Kingdom’s natural hazard monitoring and early-warning capacity. He is recognized as a highly cited author by Clarivate, ranking in the top 1% of citations for his field, with more than 85 peer-reviewed papers in distinguished journals such as Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society and Nature Climate Change, and cited by [thousands] of researchers, hydrologists and water resource managers, among other specialists. Beck is passionate about inspiring students to drive positive change in the arena of climate action, mitigation and economics, and is a strong proponent of open access, diversity, equality and equitable access in STEM fields.​

Professor Beck’s research focuses on leveraging the latest developments in machine learning, satellite remote sensing and modeling to recognize, understand and manage climate hazards such as floods, droughts and heat waves. His background in climate-water interactions, environmental impact assessments, flood and drought forecasting and big data analysis have proven invaluable in the development of hydrometeorological data products for obtaining the highest quality precipitation estimates with real-time accuracy from any location in the world; among these, his MSWEP global precipitation forecast product is used by researchers, hydrologists, and water resource managers, among other specialists, for applications such as hydrological modeling, water resource management, and extreme weather event detection. ​