A Texas A&M University engineering professor whose work focuses on drought has been chosen for a mid-career honor from the American Geophysical Union, the university announced Saturday, Oct. 3.
Dr. Ashok K. Mishra, who teaches civil and environmental engineering in the university's Zachry Department, will receive the AGU's 2026 Polubarinova-Kochina Hydrologic Sciences Mid-Career Award. The department said his research examines how droughts form, spread and shift over time and across regions, and how weather, farm, surface water and groundwater droughts connect to one another.
According to the university, the award is given each year to scientists in the middle of their careers for significant contributions to hydrologic science. It is named for Pelageya Polubarinova-Kochina, whose work helped lay the groundwork for theoretical groundwater hydrology. Selection weighs mainly the impact of a recipient's research, along with mentoring, interdisciplinary work and benefit to society.
"Over the past two decades, I have been fortunate to work with exceptional students, postdoctoral researchers, collaborators and mentors who have inspired and supported our efforts to advance drought science," Mishra said in the announcement.
