Mahesh R. Tapas

Dr. Mahesh R. Tapas is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science’s Appalachian Laboratory, where he leads the Socio-Hydrology Research Group. His research focuses on watershed hydrology and water quality, with an emphasis on understanding how hydroclimatic extremes, surface-groundwater interactions, land-use change, legacy nutrients, and human decision-making influence watershed processes and water-quality recovery.

His research integrates watershed modeling, field monitoring, remote sensing & GIS, and data-driven approaches with community engagement and socio-economic analysis. A major focus of his work is socio-hydrologic decision support, including integrating human decision-making into hydrologic models to evaluate conservation adoption, cost-effective management strategies, and water-quality policies. At the Appalachian Laboratory, his research program will focus particularly on Appalachian headwaters and Chesapeake Bay watersheds, with research spanning flood and drought resilience, nutrient and sediment transport, BMPs, watershed restoration, water-quality recovery, and Chesapeake Bay water-quality goals.

Tapas earned his Ph.D. in Integrated Coastal Sciences from East Carolina University and completed more than two years of postdoctoral research at The Ohio State University. He is a Certified Ecologist through the Ecological Society of America and an Engineer-in-Training.

Through the Socio-Hydrology Research Group, Tapas aims to bridge fundamental watershed science with practical environmental management by connecting physical watershed processes with stakeholder behavior and community needs. The group is actively looking for collaborations with researchers, agencies, watershed organizations, and communities to pursue external funding opportunities and advance impactful water resources science.