Sebastian Schwindt

About

Dr sc. (PhD) Sebastian Schwindt (he/him) is a researcher focusing on hydraulic systems and morphodynamics at the University of Stuttgart (visit his institutional profile). He leads the hydro-morphodynamics group at the Institute for Modelling Hydraulic and Environmental Systems (IWS). His research embraces numerical analyses with data-driven techniques, four-dimensional connectivity, and ecohydraulic system design.

He completed his Bachelor's (2010) and Master's (2012) studies in Environmental Engineering at the Technical University of Munich (Germany). After a detour into the private hydropower sector, Sebastian accomplished his doctorate in Civil Engineering at the Ecole Polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL, Switzerland) from 2013 to 2017 under the supervision of Prof. Anton J. Schleiss and Prof. Mário Franca. His PhD thesis entitled Hydro-morphological processes through permeable sediment traps at mountain rivers provides new insights into fluid-sediment-structure interactions and flood risk mitigation (download at epfl.ch).

Between 2017 and 2019, Sebastian pursued postdoctoral research at the University of California, Davis (USA), with Prof. Greg Pasternack. The emphasis of his postdoctoral research was on the lateral connectivity and ecohydraulic enhancement of the Yuba River (California, USA) based on remote sensing (lidar) imagery and numerical models. Find out more about Sebastian and his scientific career at ORCID.org.

Teaching

Sebastian offers classes, workshops, and courses covering the following topics:

• Basic and advanced Python programming (including collaborative code design and documentation) for water resources engineering, research, and (geospatial) data analysis
• Numerical modeling, sediment transport, and morphodynamics for hydraulic engineering
• Integrated flood protection management, river restoration, and river engineering

Graduating students: Are you looking for an exciting Bachelor or Master Thesis? Visit the IWS team website to apply for one of the announcements. Currently, the following topics are waiting for motivated students:

• From picture to depth-explicit grain size characteristics (coed with Beatriz Negreiros)
• Develop an open-source habitat suitability assessment tool (coed with Beatriz Negreiros)
• Numerical modeling of sediment transport processes in a large reservoir with Telemac3d (coed with Kilian Mouris)
• Virtual reality: digital river twins in the Unreal Engine

Research

Sebastian focuses on the hybrid modeling of hydraulic systems and their multi-dimensional connectivity with data-driven techniques powered by Python algorithms, fieldwork, lab experiements, and numerical model optimization. The full record of his scientific works is available at ORCID.org and here is a list of selected papers:

• Negreiros, Aybar Galdos, Seitz, Noack, Schwindt, Wieprecht, Haun, 2023. A multi-parameter approach to quantify riverbed clogging and vertical hyporheic connectivity. doi: 10.1002/rra.4145
• Schwindt, Callau, Mouris, Beckers, Haun, Nowak, Wieprecht, Oladyshkin, 2023. Bayesian calibration points to misconceptions in three-dimensional hydrodynamic reservoir modeling. Water Resources Research. doi: 10.1029/2022WR033660
• Mouris, Acuna Espinosa, Schwindt, Mohammadi, Haun, Wieprecht, Oladyshkin, 2023. Stability criteria for Bayesian calibration of reservoir sedimentation models. Modeling Earth Systems and Environment. doi: 10.1007/s40808-023-01712-7
• Mouris, Schwindt, Haun, Wieprecht, 2022. Introducing seasonal snow memory into the RUSLE. Journal of Soils and Sediments. doi: 10.1007/s11368-022-03192-1
• Diaz-Gomez, Pasternack, Guillon, Byrne, Schwindt, Larrieu, Sandoval-Solis, 2022. Mapping subaerial sand-gravel-cobble fluvial sediment facies using airborne lidar and machine learning. Geomorphology 401, 108106. doi: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2021.108106
• Negreiros, Schwindt, Haun, Wieprecht, 2021.Fuzzy Map Comparisons Enable Objective Hydro-morphodynamic Model Validation. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. doi: 10.1002/esp.5285
• Larrieu, Pasternack, Schwindt, 2020. Automated analysis of lateral river connectivity and fish stranding risks-Part 1: Review, theory and algorithm. Ecohydrology 14(2). doi:10.1002/eco.2268
• Moldenhauer-Roth, Piton, Schwindt, Jafarnejad, Schleiss, 2021. Design of sediment detention basins: scaled model experiments and application. International Journal of Sediment Research. doi:10.1016/j.ijsrc.2020.07.007
• Schwindt, Larrieu, Pasternack, Rabone, 2020. River Architect. SoftwareX 11. doi: 10.1016/j.softx.2020.100438 | Download (open access)
• Schwindt, Pasternack, Bratovich, Rabone, Simodynes, 2019. Hydro-morphological parameters generate lifespan maps for stream restoration management. Journal of Environmental Management 232, 475-489. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.11.010
• Schwindt, Franca, Reffo, Schleiss, 2018. Sediment traps with guiding channel and hybrid check dams improve controlled sediment retention. Natural Hazards and Earth System Science 18, 647-668. doi: 10.5194/nhess-18-647-2018 | Download (open access)
• Schwindt, Franca, Schleiss, 2017. Effects of lateral and vertical constrictions on flow in rough steep channels with bedload. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering 143 (12), 04017052-1-12. doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)HY.1943-7900.0001389
• Schwindt, Franca, De Cesare, Schleiss, 2017. Analysis of mechanical-hydraulic deposition control measures. Geomorphology 295, 467–479. doi: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.07.020

Codes, research algorithms, and Python packages from Sebastian are mostly hosted on GitHub along with detailed docs. The following Python packages and programs are available (among others):

• FlussTools: A Python3 package for river analyses, including geo-spatial analyst functions, numerical model uncertainty assessments (fuzzy set based), lidar data processing tools, and database tweaks for the application of plants in restoration science. Sebastian maintains this repository together with former and current undergrad and grad students.
• River Architect: A Python-based back-end tool for river design and habitat enhancement with an extensive Wiki.
• Open Science: A repository that links to data and codes of Sebastian s PhD research.

Awards and Distinctions

• IAHR Gerhard Jirka Award for the presentation Modelling and Design Automation of Nature-based River Engineering at the IAHR Europe 2020 conference, Warsaw, Poland
• American Geophysical Union (AGU) – Earth and Planetary Surface Processes' Early Career Researcher Spotlight (October 2019)

Sebastian is currently mainly working on the following projects:

• Optimization of supervised learning techniques for numerical model calibration (funded by the DFG). This project is a collaboration between the Depts. of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management (LWW) and Stochastic Simulation and Safety Research for Hydrosystems (LS3).
• The MITs MISTI Germany: A global seed fund targetting the initiation of international collaboration. This project is a collaboration between the Nepf lab at MIT, its research affiliate Isabella Schalko, and the IWS to promote the vertical connectivity of the hyporheic zone.
• Hydro-morphodynamic connectivity in a changing environment (funded by the DFG and in collaboration with the NSFC).
• Optimization of a technical fish pass with a 3d numerical model and physical experiments (Germany).
• DIRT-X: Delivery Impacts on Reservoirs in changing climaTe and society aCROSS scales and sectors.

Finalized scientific and other projects (some of them...):

• Numerical modeling of a 31-km river stretch bypassing a hydropower plant at the Inn River (Germany).
• Best available science analysis of Habitat Enhancement of the lower Yuba River (with University of California, Davis, USA)
• Expertise for the revitalization of the Arbogne River, Fribourg, Switzerland
• Physical modelling optimization of a filter check dam at the Drance, Martigny, VS, Switzerland
• Rivermanagement: Sediment and habitat dynamics in Switzerland
• Restoration of the pumped storage hydropower plant Happurg, Germany
• Physical model of the Rhône at Massongex for the installation of a run-of-river hydropower plant
• Preparation of the feasibility study for the Isimba hydropower plant in Uganda

Contact

Find tutorials and short videos zooming into water resources and numerical tools also on Sebastian's @hydroinformatics (Hydro-Morphodynamics) channel on YouTube.

Meet Sebastian at the IAHR World Congress 2023 in Vienna.

More contact options are available at iws.uni-stuttgart.de.

• Linkedin
• Google Scholar
• R^G
• GitHub