Profile image of Steven Sandi Rojas

Dr Steven Sandi Rojas

STAFF PROFILE

Position

Lecturer, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Faculty

Faculty of Sci Eng & Built Env

Department

School of Engineering

Campus

Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus

Contact

Biography summary

Steven is originally from Costa Rica, where he graduated as a Civil Engineer. He moved to Australia to complere a PhD in Environmental Engineering at The University of Newcastle, where he remained working as an Associate Lecturer until 2022. In March 2023, Steven started working at Deakin as a Lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Steven's main interests is the study of interactions between water and the environment. His research focuses on eco-hydrologic and eco-geomorphic processes, with emphasis on the development of numerical modelling applications. In his doctoral and post doctoral work, Steven has developed models for simulating changes in environmental conditions of freshwater and coastal wetlands under different management scenarios, climate variability and other anthropogenic pressures. His modelling approach integrates the use of two dimensional flood models with on-site and remotely sensed data. These models are used to estimate the dynamic of vegetation in wetlands over time. 

Research interests

  • Eco-hydrologic modelling modelling
  • Wetland system modelling 
  • Blue carbon

Teaching interests

  • Water resources management
  • Hydrology
  • Water engineering design
  • Hydraulics

Units taught

SEV322 - Hydrology and Hydraulics

Awards

Early Career Research Excellence Award, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, The University of Newcastle.

Publications

Filter by

2023

NDVI Response to Satellite-Estimated Antecedent Precipitation in Dryland Pastures

C Brieva, P Saco, S Sandi, S Mora, J Rodríguez

(2023), Vol. 15, pp. 1-21, Remote Sensing, Basel, Switzerland, C1

journal article

Challenges of classifying and mapping perennial freshwater systems within highly variable climate zones: A case study in the Murray Darling Basin, Australia

D Verdon-Kidd, S Sandi, A Metcalfe, L Kidd

(2023), Vol. 905, pp. 1-15, Science of the Total Environment, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1

journal article
2022

And we thought the Millennium Drought was bad: Assessing climate variability and change impacts on an Australian dryland wetland using an ecohydrologic emulator

Juan Quijano-Baron, Rebecca Carlier, Jose Rodriguez, S Sandi Rojas, Patricia Saco, Li Wen, George Kuczera

(2022), Vol. 218, pp. 1-14, Water Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1-1

journal article

Australian forested wetlands under climate change: Collapse or proliferation?

N Saintilan, E Asbridge, R Lucas, K Rogers, L Wen, M Powell, M Colloff, J Rodriguez, P Saco, S Sandi, T Pham, L Lymburner

(2022), Vol. 73, pp. 1255-1262, Marine and Freshwater Research, Melbourne, Vic., C1-1

journal article

Assessing the effects of sediment and tidal level variability on coastal wetland evolution

A Breda, P Saco, J Rodríguez, S Sandi, G Riccardi

(2022), Vol. 613, pp. 1-14, Journal of Hydrology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1

journal article
2021

The role of soils in the regulation of hazards and extreme events

P Saco, K McDonough, J Rodriguez, J Rivera-Zayas, S Sandi Rojas

(2021), Vol. 376, pp. 1-10, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, London, Eng., C1-1

journal article

Accretion, retreat and transgression of coastal wetlands experiencing sea-level rise

A Breda, P Saco, S Sandi, N Saintilan, G Riccardi, J Rodríguez

(2021), Vol. 25, pp. 769-786, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, Göttingen, Germany, C1-1

journal article

Accelerated Sea‐Level Rise Limits Vegetation Capacity to Sequester Soil Carbon in Coastal Wetlands: A Study Case in Southeastern Australia

S Sandi Rojas, J Rodriguez, P Saco, N Saintilan, G Riccardi

(2021), Vol. 9, pp. 1-24, Earth's Future, Hoboken, NJ, C1-1

journal article

Resilience of trees and the vulnerability of grasslands to climate change in temperate Australian wetlands

Neil Saintilan, Sharon Bowen, Owen Maguire, Sara Karimi, Li Wen, Megan Powell, Matthew Colloff, S Sandi Rojas, P Saco, J Rodriguez

(2021), Vol. 36, pp. 803-814, Landscape Ecology, Berlin, Germany, C1-1

journal article
2020

Using hydrological connectivity to detect transitions and degradation thresholds: Applications to dryland systems

Patricia Saco, José Rodríguez, Mariano Moreno-de las Heras, Saskia Keesstra, Samira Azadi, Steven Sandi Rojas, Jantiene Baartman, Jesús Rodrigo-Comino, María Rossi

(2020), Vol. 186, pp. 1-14, CATENA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1-1

journal article

Resilience to drought of dryland wetlands threatened by climate change

S Sandi Rojas, Jose Rodriguez, Neil Saintilan, Li Wen, George Kuczera, Gerardo Riccardi, Patricia Saco

(2020), Vol. 10, pp. 1-14, Scientific Reports, Berlin, Germany, C1

journal article

Patch organization and resilience of dryland wetlands

Steven Sandi Rojas, Patricia Saco, Jose Rodriguez, Neil Saintilan, Li Wen, George Kuczera, Gerardo Riccardi, Garry Willgoose

(2020), Vol. 726, pp. 1-10, Science of The Total Environment, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1-1

journal article

Predicting flow and vegetation status in floodplain wetlands during drought

S Sandi, J Rodriguez, P Saco, G Kuczera, K McDonough, L Wen, N Saintilan, G Riccardi

(2020), pp. 2144-2149, IAHR 2020 : River Flow : Proceedings 10th Conference on Fluvial Hydraulics, Delft, Netherlands, E1-1

conference
2019

Detecting inundation thresholds for dryland wetland vulnerability

S Sandi, P Saco, N Saintilan, L Wen, G Riccardi, G Kuczera, G Willgoose, J Rodríguez

(2019), Vol. 128, pp. 168-182, Advances in Water Resources, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1-1

journal article

PREDICTING THE RESILIENCE OF DRYLAND WETLANDS AFFECTED BY DROUGHTS

S Sandi Rojas, P Saco, L Wen, N Saintilan, G Kuczera, G Riccardi, J Rodriguez

(2019), pp. 4486-4494, IAHR 2019: Proceedings of the 38th IAHR World Congress, Panama, E1-1

conference
2018

Rising tides, rising gates: The complex ecogeomorphic response of coastal wetlands to sea-level rise and human interventions

S Sandi, J Rodríguez, N Saintilan, G Riccardi, P Saco

(2018), Vol. 114, pp. 135-148, Advances in Water Resources, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1-1

journal article
2017

Potential increase in coastal wetland vulnerability to sea-level rise suggested by considering hydrodynamic attenuation effects

J Rodríguez, P Saco, S Sandi, N Saintilan, G Riccardi

(2017), Vol. 8, pp. 1-12, Nature Communications, Berlin, Eng., C1-1

journal article
2016

Simulation of the vegetation state and flow regime interaction in the Macquarie Marshes

S Sandi, J Rodriguez, P Saco, L Wen, N Saintilan

(2016), pp. 2013-2019, River flow 2016 : proceedings of the International Conference on Fluvial Hydraulics (River Flow 2016), St. Louis, USA, 11-14 July 2016, St. Louis, Mo., E1-1

conference

LINKING HYDRAULIC REGIME CHARACTERISTICS TO VEGETATION STATUS IN THE MACQUARIE MARSHES

Steven Sandi, Jose Rodriguez, Patricia Saco, Li Wen, Neil Saintilan

(2016), pp. 218-225, ISE 2016 : Proceedings 11th International Symposium on Ecohydraulics, Melbourne, Australia, E1-1

conference
2015

Development of a vegetation dynamics model for freshwater wetland assessment in the Macquarie Marshes

S Sandi, J Rodriguez, P Saco, N Saintilan, L Wen, G Kuczera

(2015), pp. 948-955, The Art and Science of Water - 36th Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium, HWRS 2015, E1-1

conference
2014

Macquarie river floodplain flow modeling: Implications for ecogeomorphology

S Sandi Rojas, J Rodríguez, P Saco, G Riccardi, L Wen, N Saintilan, H Stenta, F Trivisonno, P Basile

(2014), pp. 2347-2355, River Flow 2014, Boca Raton, FL., B1-1

book chapter

Funded Projects at Deakin

Industry and Other Funding

Feasibility study on the use of food waste disposers in Australia.

Dr James Gong, Dr Steven Sandi Rojas

Abey Australia Pty Ltd

  • 2024: $6,952

Supervisions

No completed student supervisions to report