Peter S. Eagleson

Peter S. Eagleson (27 February 1928 - 6 January 2021) was an American hydrologist, author of Dynamic Hydrology and Ecohydrology: Darwinian Expression of Vegetation Form and Function. He taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 1952 and was a Professor Emeritus. He held professional positions including member of the National Academy of Engineering (since 1982) and President of the American Geophysical Union from 1986-1988. He won many awards including the Stockholm International Water Institute's World Water Prize in 1997.

Eagleson's research interests include dynamic hydrology, hydroclimatology, and forest ecology. His early research was on sediment transport and wave theory. He published multiple articles and book chapters about these subjects. It was not until 1964 that he significantly narrowed his focus to hydrology. In 1967 Eagleson along with some of his students, published six papers in Water Resources Research. These papers immediately impacted the field of hydrology.

Eagleson taught at MIT since 1952, holding a chair as Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering since 1965.

Awards

 * World Water Prize (Stockholm International Water Institute) 1997
 * William Bowie Medal 1994
 * James R. Killian Faculty Achievement Award, MIT 1992-1993
 * International Hydrology Prize 1991
 * Robert E. Horton Medal 1988

Selected publications

 * Eagleson, P.S. 2004. Ecohydrology. Darwinian Expression of Vegetation Form and Function. Cambridge University Press.
 * Eagleson, P.S. 1970. Dynamic hydrology. McGraw-Hill.
 * Eagleson, P.S. 1978. Climate, Soil, and Vegetation: 1. Introduction to Water Balance Dynamics. Water Resources Research, 14(5), 705–712. https://doi.org/10.1029/WR014i005p00705
 * Eagleson, P.S. 1978. Climate, Soil, and Vegetation: 2. The Distribution of Annual Precipitation Derived from Observed Storm Sequences. Water Resources Research, 14(5), 713–721. https://doi.org/10.1029/WR014i005p00713
 * Eagleson, P.S. 1978. Climate, Soil, and Vegetation: 3. A Simplified Model of Soil Moisture Movement in the Liquid Phase. Water Resources Research, 14(5), 722–730. https://doi.org/10.1029/WR014i005p00722
 * Eagleson, P.S. 1978. Climate, Soil, and Vegetation: 4. The Expected Value of Annual Evapotranspiration. Water Resources Research, 14(5), 731–739. https://doi.org/10.1029/WR014i005p00731
 * Eagleson, P.S. 1978. Climate, Soil, and Vegetation: 5. A Derived Distribution of Storm Surface Runoff. Water Resources Research, 14(5), 741–748. https://doi.org/10.1029/WR014i005p00741
 * Eagleson, P.S. 1978. Climate, Soil, and Vegetation: 6. Dynamics of the Annual Water Balance. Water Resources Research, 14(5), 749. https://doi.org/10.1029/WR014i005p00749
 * Eagleson, P.S. 1978. Climate, Soil, and Vegetation: 7. A Derived Distribution of Annual Water Yield. Water Resources Research, 14(5), 765. https://doi.org/10.1029/WR014i005p00765