Professional record · Rev. 2026

Cristóbal Soto-Escobar

Civil engineer specializing in water resources

Base

Irvine, CA

Origin

Temuco, CL

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Interests

  • Analysis of extreme precipitation events in a changing climate.
  • Use of gridded data (precipitation, temperature, evapotranspiration) in hydrological studies.
  • Integrated modeling of surface water and groundwater using coupled hydrological models.

Education

  • 2026–present — PhD (in progress), University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, United States. Fulbright Scholar.
  • 2023 — Diploma in Hydrology and Climate Change Impacts, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile — 16 SCT credits.
  • 2014–2020 — Civil Engineering, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile. Graduated with highest distinction. Thesis: “Construction of High-Resolution Spatial Intensity-Duration-Frequency Curves in Central-Southern Chile”.

Professional experience

2026 – Present — Graduate Student Researcher, University of California, Irvine
  • PhD research at the Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing (CHRS).
2020 – 2026 — Consulting Engineer, ICASS SpA
  • Hydrological and hydraulic projects focused on the water cycle and integrated resource management.
  • Strategic Water Management Plans (PEGH) with the Dirección General de Aguas (DGA), including the Maipo basin, the Maipo–Rapel coastal basins, the Lluta and Pampa basins, and the Quebrada de la Concordia basin.
  • Design of drinking water networks and support for rural drinking water projects.
  • MODFLOW model for the Barahona Tailings Dam (Codelco, El Teniente).
  • Technical advisory to Minera Los Pelambres on water resources management.
  • Led integrated modeling in the Maipo basin.
2022 — Associate Researcher, ANID Project 11190864
  • Study of the evolution of precipitation intensities using high-resolution satellite data and non-stationary frequency analysis, under the guidance of Dr. Violeta Tolorza.
2020 — Web Developer, Universidad de La Frontera
  • Development of chi2.ufro.cl for the ANID/UFRO-NSF 190018 project: interactive maps, charts and data tables.
2020 — Platform Developer, Universidad de Chile
2020 — Research Assistant, Universidad Austral de Chile
  • Participation in the FONDAP 15110009 project: “Streamflow Response to Native Forest Restoration in Former Eucalyptus Plantations in South-Central Chile” (Lara, A. et al.). DOI: 10.1002/hyp.14270
2019 — Intern, Dirección de Obras Hidráulicas
  • Support for technical inspections of rural drinking water (APR) projects in Quintrilpe, Vilcún and Santa Juana Los Acacios.
2016–2017 — Analyst, Observatorio Volcanológico de los Andes del Sur (SERNAGEOMIN)
  • Monitoring of volcanic activity from Osorno volcano to Hudson volcano.

Academic experience

  • 2019 — Teaching assistant, Engineering Project
  • 2018 — Teaching assistant, Reinforced Concrete II
  • 2018 — Teaching assistant, Hydrology
  • 2016 — Teaching assistant, Surveying
  • 2016 — Teaching assistant, Concrete Technology

Scholarships

  • 2023 — Fulbright-ANID BIO Scholarship — Doctoral studies in the U.S. starting in 2026
  • 2015–2019 — Chilean Free Higher Education Scholarship (Gratuidad)
  • 2014 — Bicentennial Scholarship (Beca Bicentenario)

Courses

  • 2021 — Integrated Surface and Groundwater Modeling: Approaches and Case Studies Using WEAP-MODFLOW, CEAZA

Conferences and publications

  • Soto-Escobar, C., Zambrano-Bigiarini, M., Tolorza, V., and Garreaud, R. Gridded Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) curves: understanding precipitation extremes in a drying climate, EGUsphere [preprint], 2025. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-621
  • Zambrano-Bigiarini, M., Soto, C., and Tolorza, V. Spatially-distributed Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) curves for Chile using sub-daily gridded datasets, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria. EGU24-21043. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-21043
  • Soto, C., Tolorza, V., Zambrano, M. Duración y Frecuencia de precipitaciones máximas en Chile utilizando productos grillados de precipitación de alta resolución espacial, XVI Congreso Geológico Chileno, November 2023. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10340229
  • Soto, C., Tolorza, V., Zambrano, M. Duración y Frecuencia de precipitaciones máximas en Chile utilizando productos grillados de precipitación de alta resolución espacial, Simposio Internacional: Clima y Resiliencia en Tiempo de Cambio, September 2023. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.8327125
  • Sanzana, P., Vargas, M., Muñoz, M., Soto, C., Gironas, J., and Braud, I. Artificial recharge effects in water balance of a peri-urban semi-arid catchment: a case study in an Andean aquifer using WEAP-MODFLOW, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria. EGU22-10479. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-10479
  • Soto, C., Zambrano, M. Construcción de curvas Intensidad-Duración-Frecuencia, de alta resolución espacial para la zona Centro-Sur de Chile, XXV Congreso Chileno de Ingeniería Hidráulica (SOCHID), 2021.
  • Zambrano, M., Soto, C., Baez, O. Spatially-distributed IDF curves for Center-Southern Chile using IMERG, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online. EGU2020-21091. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-21091

Technical skills

  • Hydrological and hydraulic modeling: HEC-HMS, SWAT+, WEAP, TUWmodel, EPANET, MODFLOW
  • Programming and data processing: R (tidyverse, terra), Python, Git, LaTeX, Quarto
  • Visualization and web tools: ShinyApps, Docker, HTML/CSS
  • GIS and remote sensing: QGIS, ArcGIS, Google Earth Engine

Web platforms developed

Languages

  • Spanish — Native
  • English — Intermediate (B2 level)

References

Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini, PhD — mauricio.zambrano@ufrontera.cl