Appointment of Dr. Matthew Cohen as Director of the UF Water Institute

David Norton, Vice President for Research

UF Research is pleased to announce Dr. Matthew Cohen as director of the UF Water Institute, effective November 22, 2024. He has served as interim director since October 2023, succeeding founding director Dr. Wendy Graham.

Dr. Cohen received his Ph.D. in environmental engineering sciences from the University of Florida in 2003 and has been a faculty member since 2006. He is currently the Carl S. Swisher Chair in Water Resources and a professor in the Department of Forest, Fisheries and Geomatics Sciences.

Dr. Cohen is an ecohydrologist with nearly 20 years of experience addressing water resource and ecosystem science challenges in Florida and around the world. He has led research focused on hydrological restoration of the Everglades and Big Cypress, the changing ecological state of Florida’s springs, the deep links between forests and water, and the changing patterns of Arctic and Antarctic stream functions. He has received over $22 million in funding from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the US Army Corps of Engineers and the State of Florida and has published over 120 papers.

As director of the Water Institute, Dr. Cohen will lead over 400 affiliated faculty members from more than 80 departments and centers across 11 colleges with active research projects totaling more than $170 million. The institute brings together talent from throughout the university and across the State University System, and builds internal and external partnerships spanning the water sector, to address urgent water research challenges; implement innovative interdisciplinary academic programs to train excellent students; and provide state-of-the-art expert assistance and educational programs for external stakeholders. Water Institute faculty represent a breadth of water specialties from geophysical, chemical, biological and social sciences, engineering, law and humanities.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Cohen on his new leadership role.