Diogo Bolster, professor and Notre Dame Chair in Hydrology, has been appointed as the Henry J. Massman Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences (CEEES) at the University of Notre Dame, effective July 1.

He succeeds Joannes J. Westerink, the Joseph and Nona Ahearn Professor of Computational Science, who returns to the CEEES faculty after serving 10 years as chair of the department.

Bolster earned his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from University College Dublin and his master's and doctorate, both in mechanical engineering, from the University of California at San Diego. He served as a postdoctoral researcher at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in Barcelona prior to joining the Notre Dame Engineering faculty in 2010.

Bolster is well acquainted with leadership roles. In addition to his research and teaching, he serves as associate director of Notre Dame’s Environmental Change Initiative, where he oversees the Linked Experimental Ecosystem Facility. He also serves as director of graduate studies for CEEES.

His research focuses on environmental fluid flows and contaminant transport, including groundwater flows, stream and river flows, confined buoyancy-driven flows in enclosed spaces such as buildings, and larger-scale buoyancy-driven atmospheric flows. His specific research projects promote environmental stewardship by providing useful tools for practitioners and policymakers.

He teaches courses in fluid mechanics, groundwater, probabilistic methods for engineers and scientists, and the fate and transport of contaminants in environmental flows.

Bolster received the National Science Foundation Early Career Development Award in 2014 and the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C., Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching from Notre Dame in 2017.

“I’m pleased that Professor Bolster has agreed to take on this important role and grateful for the decade of departmental leadership provided by Professor Westerink,” said Patricia J. Culligan, professor of civil engineering and the Matthew H. McCloskey Dean of the College of Engineering.

“The first and oldest of Notre Dame’s engineering departments plays a vital role in the future. All of us look forward to working with Professor Bolster as the department and the college continue to grow and shape the world.”

Originally published by the College of Engineering on April 13.