Overview
Background
Jessica Eisma is an expert in community-engaged research in the context of sustainable urban water management. Her vision is to spark a shift toward hydrology-informed urban design spanning the lot to city scale through grounded, yet innovative research on nature-based solutions for managing urban flooding and on urban modification of rainfall. She seeks to uncover how urban development policy and practice contribute to the occurrence of flooding and to stimulate international dialogue on effective urban water management with nature-based solutions. She is committed to developing the information and resources necessary for urban planners and engineers to pursue practice and policy changes that will address significant infrastructural planning and design gaps related to infrastructure for urban water management. Her work will advance scientific evidence for the feedback between urban areas, the hydrosphere, and society and transform the way we approach urban development. In the face of climate change and burgeoning urban populations, such understanding is increasingly critical for managing the human and property costs associated with urban flooding.
Availability
- Dr Jessica Eisma is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Civil Engineering, Michigan State University
- Masters (Research) of Civil Engineering, Purdue University
- Graduate Certificate of Engineering - Higher Engineering Trade, Purdue University
- Doctor of Philosophy of Civil Engineering, Purdue University
Research interests
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Urban nature-based solutions
I develop locally responsive, novel urban nature-based solutions in flood and climate-vulnerable communities, focusing on developing evidence for context-specific implementation of urban nature-based solutions by examining physiographic and social factors influencing performance and uptake in addition to local governance and policy challenges. This work contributes to new evidence for the implementation of nature-based solutions to increase flood and climate resilience and has the potential to influence national and international development policy.
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Urban modification of rainfall and temperature
Urban areas are warmer than rural areas, and urban areas modify rainfall, resulting in urban heat and rainfall patterns with distinct hotspots. However, current approaches overlook how urban structure interacts with local land-atmosphere feedback to intensify these literal and figurative hotspots. I develop novel frameworks for climate-resilient urban design that incorporate nature-based solutions and are aligned to the unique physiographic constraints of diverse regions. Major outcomes of this work include improved quantification of local scale flood vulnerability and more effective practical guidelines for urban planning and design.
Works
Search Professor Jessica Eisma’s works on UQ eSpace
2026
Journal Article
Enhancing undergraduate research readiness in water and energy: a one-week bootcamp integrating fair data principles, python, and machine learning
Mostacedo-Marasovic, Silvia-Jessica, Ahmad, Junaid, Chakravarthy, Sharma, McCullough, Tanner, Park, June Young, Forbes, Cory T. and Eisma, Jessica A. (2026). Enhancing undergraduate research readiness in water and energy: a one-week bootcamp integrating fair data principles, python, and machine learning. Journal of College Science Teaching, 55 (1), 26-33. doi: 10.1080/0047231X.2025.2508802
2025
Journal Article
Multi-objective performance evaluation and contributing area optimization framework for urban green stormwater infrastructure
Narzis, Afiya and Eisma, Jessica A. (2025). Multi-objective performance evaluation and contributing area optimization framework for urban green stormwater infrastructure. Water Resources Management, 40 (1) 21. doi: 10.1007/s11269-025-04429-7
2025
Journal Article
Global dataset of sand dam features and geographical distribution across drylands
Piemontese, Luigi, Villani, Lorenzo, Limones, Natalia, Aerts, Jeroen. C. J. H., Castelli, Giulio, Eisma, Jessica A., Mpofu, Bongani, Neufeld, Doug Graber, Ritchie, Hannah, Ryan, Cate, Quinn, Ruth, Whinney, Christine and Bresci, Elena (2025). Global dataset of sand dam features and geographical distribution across drylands. Scientific Data, 12 (1) 1929, 1-8. doi: 10.1038/s41597-025-06197-w
2025
Journal Article
Small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based detection of seasonal micro-urban heat islands for diverse land uses
Ahmad, Junaid, Sajjad, Muhammad and Eisma, Jessica (2025). Small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based detection of seasonal micro-urban heat islands for diverse land uses. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 46 (1), 119-147. doi: 10.1080/01431161.2024.2391582
2025
Journal Article
Significant attribution of urbanization to triggering extreme rainfall in the urban core—a case of Dallas–Fort Worth in North Texas
Ahmad, Junaid, Eisma, Jessica A. and Sajjad, Muhammad (2025). Significant attribution of urbanization to triggering extreme rainfall in the urban core—a case of Dallas–Fort Worth in North Texas. Urban Science, 9 (8) 295, 295. doi: 10.3390/urbansci9080295
2025
Book Chapter
Urban flood prevention through community-centered green stormwater infrastructure planning
Sharif, Mohammad Newaz, Knox, Claire Connolly, Boyer, Dominic and Eisma, Jessica (2025). Urban flood prevention through community-centered green stormwater infrastructure planning. Nature-based solutions for urban and peri-urban areas: for resilient and sustainable urbanization. (pp. 211-228) edited by Mohammed Firoz C., Lalit Kumar Dashora and Rajib Shaw. Singapore: Springer Natre Singapore. doi: 10.1007/978-981-96-5933-3_11
2025
Journal Article
The silent witness: how soil dynamics are influenced by climate change
Leal Filho, Walter, Eisma, Jessica A., Amiraslani, Farshad, Baidoo, Anastasia Ago, Limones, Natalia and Brearley, Francis Q. (2025). The silent witness: how soil dynamics are influenced by climate change. Soil Advances, 3 100054, 1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.soilad.2025.100054
2023
Journal Article
A Bayesian model for quantifying errors in citizen science data: application to rainfall observations from Nepal
Eisma, Jessica A., Schoups, Gerrit, Davids, Jeffrey C. and Van De Giesen, Nick (2023). A Bayesian model for quantifying errors in citizen science data: application to rainfall observations from Nepal. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 27 (19), 3565-3579. doi: 10.5194/hess-27-3565-2023
2023
Conference Publication
Design and placement of green stormwater infrastructure and associated runoff peak and volume reduction assessment
Darafshani, Mahsa Samadi, Seersma, Jessica and Eisma, Jessica A. (2023). Design and placement of green stormwater infrastructure and associated runoff peak and volume reduction assessment. International Low Impact Development Conference 2023, Oklahoma City, OK United States, 6-9 August 2023. Reston, VA United States: American Society of Civil Engineers. doi: 10.1061/9780784485002.016
2023
Conference Publication
Developing Green Stormwater Infrastructure Strategies to Reduce Flood Runoff and Improve Water Quality for the Vulnerable Coastal Communities of Houston
Narzis, Afiya and Eisma, Jessica (2023). Developing Green Stormwater Infrastructure Strategies to Reduce Flood Runoff and Improve Water Quality for the Vulnerable Coastal Communities of Houston. World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2023, Henderson NV United States, 21-24 May 2023. Washington, DC United States: American Society of Civil Engineers. doi: 10.1061/9780784484852.064
2023
Journal Article
Capturing small-scale surface temperature variation across diverse urban land uses with a small unmanned aerial vehicle
Ahmad, Junaid and Eisma, Jessica A. (2023). Capturing small-scale surface temperature variation across diverse urban land uses with a small unmanned aerial vehicle. Remote Sensing, 15 (8) 2042, 2042. doi: 10.3390/rs15082042
2022
Conference Publication
Inequity by inequity: community driven investigation of wheelchair user discomfort by infrastructure failures
McCullough, Steven, Eisma, Jessica, Park, June Young, Salazar, Mikila and Rose, Sarah F. (2022). Inequity by inequity: community driven investigation of wheelchair user discomfort by infrastructure failures. 9th ACM International Conference on Systems for Energy-Efficient Buildings, Cities, and Transportation, Boston, MA USA, 9-10 November 2022. New York, NY United States: Association for Computing Machinery. doi: 10.1145/3563357.3564081
2022
Journal Article
Sand dams for sustainable water management: challenges and future opportunities
Castelli, Giulio, Piemontese, Luigi, Quinn, Ruth, Aerts, Jeroen, Elsner, Paul, Ertsen, Maurits, Hussey, Stephen, Filho, Walter Leal, Limones, Natalia, Mpofu, Bongani, Neufeld, Doug Graber, Ngugi, Keziah, Ngwenya, Nobubelo, Parker, Alison, Ryan, Cate, de Trincheria, Josep, Villani, Lorenzo, Eisma, Jessica and Bresci, Elena (2022). Sand dams for sustainable water management: challenges and future opportunities. Science of the Total Environment, 838 156126, 1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156126
2022
Conference Publication
Lessons learned - preparing graduate students and postdoctoral researchers for tenure track careers through mentoring circles
Broberg, Morgan R., Bose, Baishakhi, Pineda-Mendez, Raul Andres, Devine, David, Gehr, Rachel Elisabeth, Jange, Camila Garcia, McDermott, Jacqueline E., Loui, Michael C. and Eisma, Jessica (2022). Lessons learned - preparing graduate students and postdoctoral researchers for tenure track careers through mentoring circles. ASEE 2022 Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN United States, June 2022. Washington, DC United States: American Society for Engineering Education.
2021
Journal Article
Assessing the impact of land cover, soil, and climate on the storage potential of dryland sand dams
Eisma, Jessica A., Saksena, Siddharth and Merwade, Venkatesh (2021). Assessing the impact of land cover, soil, and climate on the storage potential of dryland sand dams. Frontiers in Water, 3 671455. doi: 10.3389/frwa.2021.671455
2021
Journal Article
Sand dams as a potential solution to rural water security in drylands: existing research and future opportunities
Ritchie, Hannah, Eisma, Jessica A. and Parker, Alison (2021). Sand dams as a potential solution to rural water security in drylands: existing research and future opportunities. Frontiers in Water, 3 651954, 1-18. doi: 10.3389/frwa.2021.651954
2021
Journal Article
A data-driven approach to assessing the impact of water harvesting structures on regional water storage in East Africa
Eisma, J. A. and Merwade, V. (2021). A data-driven approach to assessing the impact of water harvesting structures on regional water storage in East Africa. Journal of Hydroinformatics, 23 (2), 352-367. doi: 10.2166/HYDRO.2021.115
2020
Journal Article
Investigating the environmental response to water harvesting structures: a field study in Tanzania
Eisma, Jessica A. and Merwade, Venkatesh M. (2020). Investigating the environmental response to water harvesting structures: a field study in Tanzania. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 24 (4), 1891-1906. doi: 10.5194/hess-24-1891-2020
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Jessica Eisma is:
- Available for supervision
Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.
Available projects
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Urban rainfall-informed green stormwater management
This project will investigate how urban structure influences modification of rainfall, exacerbating urban flooding, and how green stormwater management might help mitigate the problem.
Media
Enquiries
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