Making the Unpredictable Predictable
Prof. Dr. Simon Michael Papalexiou is a new professor at TU Hamburg
07.10.2025
“The beauty of randomness and the complexity of nature” are, for him, what make his research around the element of water so particularly fascinating. As a newly appointed professor for Global Water Security and the future head of the new institute of the same name at TU Hamburg, Simon Michael Papalexiou primarily focuses on hydroclimatic fluctuations and extremes such as floods, droughts, and storms, as well as on issues of global water availability and security.
“In short, it is about making the unpredictable predictable,” explains Papalexiou, describing the ambitious goal of his work. To achieve this, he develops models to capture the randomness and complexity of nature, which often follow surprisingly simple laws. He also works intensively with climate model results and downscaling methods - that is, techniques that translate large-scale climate data to a finer regional level - and at the same time provides practical and future-oriented applications: “By better quantifying risks and extreme events, my research helps society develop more robust systems and make informed decisions under uncertainty,” he explains, expressing the aspiration “to develop solutions based on solid scientific foundations that can withstand rare but potentially devastating events.”
With his international expertise, Prof. Dr. Papalexiou will in future make an important contribution to interdisciplinary education and research in the fields of water resources management and climate adaptation at TUHH.
Curiosity Leads to Science
He has always been curious about how nature works, reports the renowned researcher, “and curiosity leads to science.” He pursued a corresponding career path at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), where he obtained his doctorate. As a researcher, he then went to the University of California, Irvine. His first professorship was in Canada at the University of Saskatchewan, followed by the University of Calgary, where he was appointed full professor within seven years. His research work has resulted in nearly 100 publications in leading scientific journals, contributions to the editorial boards of Water Resources Research and the Journal of Hydrology, as well as the development of CoSMoS, an open-source software widely used for stochastic modeling of hydroclimatic extremes.
An Exceptional Opportunity
TU Hamburg offered him the unique opportunity to establish an institute dedicated to global water security, a field where science can have a direct impact on society. “I see this as an exceptional chance to build a long-term institute with a strong research focus that provides risk-related solutions while also designing state-of-the-art educational programs for understanding, analyzing, and predicting extreme events for the needs of today and tomorrow,” the scientist explains his move from the University of Calgary to TU Hamburg. The international orientation, spirit of collaboration, and visionary leadership at TUHH also made his decision easy.
In his free time, the native Greek enjoys improvising on his guitar, mainly reads historical novels, and explores new places with his family. His new hometown of Hamburg was love at first sight for him, enthuses the newly appointed TU professor: “A vibrant city woven through everywhere with water—probably the best place for someone engaged in water security.”
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