John L. Sabo

John L. Sabo, Ph.D. (University of California, Berkeley) is Executive Director of the ByWater Institute for Climate Adaptation and Professor of River and Coastal Science and Engineering at Tulane University. His work focuses on a central challenge of climate adaptation: how do we redesign the systems we depend on to thrive in a more volatile climate?
Sabo studies water as a critical link among climate, ecosystems, food systems, infrastructure, and communities. His research explores how river flows, groundwater, floods, droughts, and increasing climate volatility shape both natural and human systems across large river basins.
A central premise of his work is that climate adaptation cannot be achieved through infrastructure or conservation alone. Instead, climate-ready communities and watersheds require portfolios that deliberately combine natural, built, cyber, and social infrastructure. At Tulane, he brings together hydrologic modeling, ecology, data science, and AI to understand how these systems can be designed and managed together.
Sabo also communicates widely about water and climate adaptation through the Audacious Water podcast and Substack and as a contributor to Forbes, translating emerging science into ideas and strategies for policymakers, businesses, practitioners, and the public.