Dr. Luis Gustavo de Goncalves is an accomplished researcher specializing in surface hydrology, land surface-atmosphere interactions, hydrometeorology, and land surface modeling, with a particular focus on South America. Since 2005, he has collaborated with U.S. universities, research institutes, and South American partners, including the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE), on the South American Land Data Assimilation System (SALDAS). In 2005, Dr. de Goncalves joined the Hydrological Sciences Branch at NASA/GSFC in Greenbelt, MD, as a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow, following the completion of his Ph.D. in Hydrology from the University of Arizona’s Hydrology and Water Resources Department.

Affiliated with CMCC since 2022, he is part of the group on data assimilation development from the Climate Simulation and Prediction division acting on atmosphere and land surface DA. He is also leading the efforts for the creation, at CMCC, of a global land surface reanalysis spanning over 20 years from 2002 onwards, utilizing CEMS2/CLM5 under the EU-Copernicus Climate Change Service Evolution (CERISE) project.

Actively involved in various research initiatives, Dr. de Goncalves participates in the joint UN FAO/IAEA project “Enhancing Agricultural Resilience and Water Security Using Cosmic-Ray Neutron Technology.” His extensive professional background includes monitoring, development, and evaluation of operational atmospheric models at the Center for Weather Forecast and Climate Studies, a division of INPE. Dr. de Goncalves serves as a dedicated full professor in the graduate program in meteorology at INPE, where he imparts his expertise by teaching and advising MSc and PhD students in data assimilation and related areas.