Professor Slobodan Djordjevic

Slobodan is Professor of Hydraulic Engineering, Deputy Head of Engineering and Co-Director of the Centre for Water Systems, which he joined in 2002. At Exeter he served as the Director of Postgraduate Studies, Director of Education for Engineering, elected member of the University Senate, and most recently as the inaugural Associate Dean (International and Development) in the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences. He received degrees in Civil Engineering from University of Belgrade, where he worked for fifteen years. Slobodan has held visiting positions at the Technical University of Munich, The University of West Indies in Barbados and the Florida State University in Tallahassee. He taught on over twenty modules on various undergraduate, postgraduate and specialist courses.

Slobodan has worked extensively on the development and application of methodologies and tools for simulation of urban flooding, modelling of drainage networks and assessment of various direct and indirect impacts of flooding in the context of climate change and urban development. His other areas of expertise include river and coastal engineering, cascading effects between water, waste, energy, transportation and other infrastructure systems, tidal energy extraction, impacts of dams, scour around bridge piers, and water quality modelling. He also worked on projects on drought risk management, nature-based solutions, ventilation of tunnels, and water-food-energy nexus.

Slobodan has been awarded research grants worth £12m for projects worldwide and published 10 book chapters and 100 peer-reviewed journal papers (with 200 different co-authors, in 40 different journals). He led EU FP7 CORFU consortium and in that capacity organised and co-chaired the International Conference of Flood Resilience: Experiences in Asia and Europe, held in Exeter. He is an Editor of Journal of Flood Risk Management.

Current research grants (old projects are shown on CWS):

• WATERLINE – Transforming Advanced Water Skilling through the Creation of a Network of Extended-reality Water Emulative Centres (Horizon Europe, 2022-2025)
• WATERVERSE – Water Data Management Ecosystem for Water Data Spaces (Horizon Europe, 2022-2025)
• ARSINOE – Climate-resilient regions through systemic solutions and innovations (EU H2020, 2021-2025)
• RECONECT – Regenerating ecosystems with nature-based solutions for hydro-meteorological risk reduction (EU H2020, 2018-2024)
• ULTIMATE – Industry water-utility symbIosis for a smarter water society (H2020, 2020-2024)
• Integrated management of flood and drought in the Mun River basin in Thailand (COP26, 2021-2022)
• WISE – Water Informatics: Science & Engineering Centre for Doctoral Training (EPSRC, 2014-2023)

Current PhD students – project title, funding body, co-supervisor:

• Ben Hamilton – Data analytics for predicting and detecting blockages in pipe networks, STREAM/SWW, Z. Kapelan & R. Danilovic
• Jessica Holland – Machine learning predictive maintenance for sustainable urban drainage, QUEX, G. Tabor, D. Batstone & D. Jarman
• Jessica Penny – Impact of land-use changes on hydrological regime, EPSRC WISE, A. Chen
• Laura Wignall – Flood forecasting as a tool flood risk management, EPSRC WISE, A. Chen
• Babak Zolghadr-Asli – Maximising the benefits of desalinated seawater supply networks for agricultural sustainability, QUEX, N. McIntyre, R. Farmani & L. Pagliero

Applications for PhD study are very welcome. Candidates – including those who have secured funding or intend to apply for scholarships – are encouraged to discuss ideas prior to submitting the application, by emailing an outline research proposal and the CV to s.djordjevic@exeter.ac.uk.

Slobodan playing music with his sons can be seen here. Highlights from Slobodan's Piano Recital on his Inaugural can be viewed here. The complete 2017 gig with the Jazz Flood band is available here. Jazz Flood live performance at the Nišville 2018 Jazz Festival can be seen h e r e . The latest music recording can be accessed here.