Saubhagya Headshot

Saubhagya S Rathore

R&D Staff

Contact

865.341.0605 | RATHORESS@ORNL.GOV

Bio

Dr. Saubhagya Singh Rathore is a watershed hydrologist in the Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). With a background in numerical and analytical modeling of hydrologic systems, Dr. Rathore is dedicated to studying the intricate flow and transport dynamics within inland and coastal watersheds.

Dr. Rathore leverages advanced computational models to investigate the complexities of water flow, availability, and quality across diverse hydrologic landscapes. His work integrates process-based models and data to assess the impacts of external drivers, both natural and human-induced, on watershed hydrology. Through his research, he aims to enhance predictive capabilities for sustainable water resource management and inform decision-making in coupled natural and built environments.

Professional Experience

2024 - present: R&D Staff, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Lab

2021 – 2024: Associate R&D Staff, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Lab

2020 – 2021: Post Doctoral Researcher, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Lab

2019 – 2020: Instructor of Record, College of Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology 

Awards

  • Early Career Development Program Cohort Member (LDRD Early Career Awardee, 2025), ORNL
  • Honorable Mention (2nd place), UCOWR Ph.D. Dissertation Award (2021)
  • Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor for Civil and Environmental Engineering (2019)
  • Best Resident Advisor of the Year, Department of Housing, Georgia Tech (2019)
  • NAFSA Advocate - nominated by Georgia Tech, Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. (2018)
  • Undergraduate Research Award, IIT Bombay (2013)

 

Education

2020:  Ph.D., Civil Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Development of seawater-freshwater interface in heterogeneous coastal aquifers

Ph.D. Dissertation advisor: Jian Luo and Aris Georgakakos

2017:  M.S., Civil Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Concentration: Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Water Resources Engineering

2014:  B.Tech., Civil Engineering (Honors), Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

B.Tech. Dissertation advisor: T.I. Eldho

Professional Service

Manuscript Reviewer

Nature Scientific Reports, Geophysical Research Letters, Water Resources Research, Journal of Hydrology, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, Environmental Modeling and Software, Advances in Water Resources, Hydrological Sciences, Environmental Research Letters. 

Proposal Reviewer 

  • DOE-ESS Panel Reviewer (2023, 2024), DOE-SCGSR Proposal Reviewer

Professional Society Service 

  • Session convener: Advances in Coastal Hydrology: Processes and Impacts, AGU Fall Meeting, 2019
  • Session convener: Groundwater-Surface Water Interactions: Integrating Physical, Biological, and Chemical Patterns and Processes Across Systems and Scales, AGU Fall Meeting, 2022
  • Session convener: Advancing Integrated Modeling for Water Resource Management in Coupled Hydrological and Societal Systems, AGU Fall Meeting, 2024

Georgia Institute of Technology 

  • Student Advisor: Honor Advisory Council, Office of Student Integrity, 2015-2019
  • Graduate Teaching Fellow: Center for Teaching and Learning, 2019

Professional Affiliations

American Geophysical Union 

Publications

View All

Other Publications

  1. Perez, G., Coon, E., Le, P.V.V., Wright, D.B., Rathore, S.S., Nduka, I.C., Persad, G., Passalacqua, P. (2026) “Projected changes in daily and multi-day extreme rainfall across the US using downscaled CMIP6 models”, Environmental Research: Climate. https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5295/ae4f14 
  2. Gomez-Velez, J. D., Rathore, S.S., Cohen, M.J., Painter S.L. (2026) “Hyporheic-zone processes and stream oxygen dynamics: Insights from a multiscale reactive transport model”, Water Resources Research, 61,e2025WR040208. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025WR040208.
  3. Rathore, S.S., Brandon S., and Scott L. Painter. (2025) "Hydrologic response of artificially drained agricultural watersheds: insights from high-resolution integrated surface/subsurface simulations." Environmental Research Letters 20.9: 094023, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adf240 
  4. Liu Y., Li B., Song W., He Y., Guo Q., Kim M., Rathore S.S., Luo J. (2025) "Impact of inland boundary conditions on seawater intrusion modeling in stratified coastal aquifers under sea-level rise." Journal of Hydrology: 134193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134193 
  5. Rathore, S.S., Svyatskii, D.S., Coon E. T., Son, K., and Painter, S.L. (2024) “Modeling the effects of artificial drainage on agriculture-dominated watersheds using a fully distributed integrated hydrology model.” Water Resources Research, 60, e2023WR035993, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR035993   
  6. Rathore, S.S., Coon E. T., and Painter, S.L. (2024) “A Stream-aligned Mixed Polyhedral Meshing Strategy for Integrated Surface- Subsurface Hydrological Models” Computers & Geosciences, July 2024, 105617, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2024.105617
  7. Perez, G., Coon, E.T., Rathore, S.S., Le, P.V.V. (2024), “Advancing process-based flood frequency analysis for assessing flood hazard and population flood exposure”. Journal of Hydrology, 639: 131620, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.131620
  8. Le, P. V. V., Rathore, S. S., Coon, E. T., Ward, A., Haggerty, R., and Painter, S. L. (2024) “Hydrologic connectivity and dynamics of solute transport in a mountain stream: Insights from a long-term tracer test and multiscale transport modeling informed by machine learning”. Journal of Hydrology, 639, 131562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.131562     
  9. Rathore, S.S., Ward, A.S. and Painter, S.L., (2023) “Numerical evaluation of photosensitive tracers as a strategy for separating surface and subsurface transient storage in streams” Journal of Hydrology, 624, p.129931. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.129931
  10. Le, P.V., Rathore, S.S. and Painter, S.L., (2023) “A multiscale model for solute transport in stream corridors with unsteady flow”  Journal of Hydrology, 622, p.129670. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.129670
  11. Rathore, S.S., Schwartz, G.E., Brooks, S.C. and Painter, S. L., (2022) “Joint estimation of biogeochemical model parameters from multiple experiments: A Bayesian approach applied to mercury methylation” Environmental Modelling & Software, 155, p.105453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2022.105453   
  12. Schwartz, G.E., Muller, K.A., Rathore, S.S., Wilpiszeski, R.L., Carrell, A.A., Cregger, M.A., Elias, D.A., Podar, M., Painter, S.L., Brooks, S.C., (2022) “Incorporating Variable Sediment Microbial Activity into Methylmercury Production Kinetics Modeling” Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts. https://doi.org/10.1039/D1EM00287B
  13. Rathore, S. S., Jan, A., Coon, E., Painter S. L. (2021), “On the Reliability of Parameter Inferences in a Multiscale Model for Transport in Stream Corridors” Water Resources Research, 57, https://doi:10.1029/2020WR028908
  14. Rathore, S. S., Lu, C., & Luo, J. (2020). “A semi-analytical method to fast delineate seawater‐freshwater interface in two‐dimensional heterogeneous coastal aquifers” Water Resources Research, 56, e2020WR027197. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR027197
  15. Rathore, S. S., Tang, Y., Lu, C., & Luo, J. (2020) “A Simplified Equation of Approximate Interface Profile in Stratified Coastal Aquifers” Journal of Hydrology, 124249.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.124249
  16. Tang, Y., Rathore, S. S., Lu, C., & Luo, J. (2020) “Development of groundwater lens for transient recharge in strip islands” Journal of Hydrology, 590, 125209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125209  
  17. Lu, C., Cao, H., Ma, J., Shi, W., Rathore, S. S., Wu, J., & Luo, J. (2019) “A proof‐of‐concept study of using a less permeable slice along the shoreline to increase fresh groundwater storage of oceanic islands: Analytical and experimental validation” Water Resources Research, 55,  6450– 6463. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR024529
  18. Rathore, S. S., Zhao, Y., Lu, C., & Luo, J. (2018). “Defining the effect of stratification in coastal aquifers using a new parameter”. Water Resources Research, 54(9). https://doi.org/doi:10.1029/2018WR023114
  19. Rathore, S. S., Zhao, Y., Lu, C., & Luo, J. (2018). “Analytical analysis of the temporal asymmetry between seawater intrusion and retreat”. Advances in Water Resources, 111, 121-131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2017.11.001  
  20. Zhao, Y., Rathore, S. S., Liu, M., & Luo, J. (2018). “Joint Bayesian Inversion for Analyzing Conservative and Reactive Breakthrough Curves”  Journal of Hydrology, 567, 446-456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.10.029  
  21. Lu, C., Wang, Z., Zhao, Y., Rathore, S. S., Huo, J., Tang, Y., et al. (2018). “A mobile-mobile transport model for simulating reactive transport in connected heterogeneous fields”. Journal of Hydrology, 560, 97-108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.02.073

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