Dinesh Gulati

Curriculum vitae

Dinesh Gulati

Ph.D. Candidate in Water Resources, University of Idaho

[email protected] LinkedIn GitHub Google Scholar ORCID

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Education

Ph.D. in Water Resources

2023 – present

University of Idaho

  • Dissertation: Development and deployment of soil water budget models tailored for Idaho agroecosystems and their applications
  • Advisor: Dr. Meetpal S. Kukal
  • GPA: 4.00

M.Tech. in Soil and Water Engineering

2018 – 2021

Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India

  • Thesis: Simulation of groundwater recharge from transplanted and direct seeded rice fields
  • Advisor: Dr. Sanjay Satpute
  • GPA: 3.32

B.Tech. in Agricultural Engineering

2014 – 2018

Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India

  • Project: Comparative field evaluation of different straw management technologies in combine harvested paddy fields under different straw conditions
  • Advisor: Dr. M. K. Narang
  • GPA: 3.22

Research experience

Graduate Research Assistant

Aug 2024 – present

Department of Soil and Water Systems, University of Idaho

  • Developed a Google Earth Engine routine to obtain and analyze OpenET, gridMET, and soils data for the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer.
  • Contributed to the pyfao56 open-source evapotranspiration and water balance tool (Irrigation Association Vanguard Award).
  • Contributed to developing a Python model for quantifying evapotranspiration of applied water.
  • Assessed soil organic carbon gain impacts on agrohydrological processes across soils, climates, and irrigation practices.
  • Built SnakeFlux, a Flask-based cooperator portal that automates eddy covariance data delivery and visualization.
  • Built FAO56-Studio, an interactive no-code platform to simulate FAO-56 based soil water budgets.
  • Analyzed eddy covariance energy balance closure and flux footprints using the flux-data-qaqc and fluxfootprints packages.

Summer Research Assistant, IWRRI

Jun – Aug 2025

University of Idaho

  • Conducted an initial hydrological assessment of the Portneuf Watershed for IWRRI.
  • Analyzed gridMET, PRISM, OpenET, USDA CDL, NLCD, and IrrMapper datasets in Google Earth Engine using the JavaScript and Python APIs.

Graduate Research Assistant

Aug 2023 – Aug 2024

Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University

  • Contributed to the pyfao56 open-source evapotranspiration and water balance tool.
  • Developed a machine learning model that enables the use of NOAA reference ET forecasts in the Western U.S.
  • Assessed soil organic carbon gain impacts on agrohydrological processes across soils, climates, and irrigation practices.

Senior Research Fellow

May 2021 – May 2022

Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University

  • Planned and managed field experiments under microirrigation systems.
  • Developed low-cost, microcontroller-based sensors to observe climate and agricultural parameters for under $50.
  • Supported Ph.D. and master's students with research and taught practical classes for bachelor's students.

Master's Research

Aug 2018 – Apr 2021

Department of Soil and Water Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University

  • Conducted field experiments for direct-seeded and transplanted rice.
  • Collected and analyzed soil moisture data using Delta PR2 probes.
  • Estimated and compared groundwater recharge using HYDRUS-1D simulations.

Publications

  1. Kukal, M. S., Gulati, D., Zhao, M., Maas, A., & Kaiser, K. E. (2026). Intensification of irrigated agriculture and precipitation explain rising evapotranspiration in the Snake River Basin despite declining atmospheric demand. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 68, 104078. doi:10.1016/j.ejrh.2026.104078
  2. Keshavarz Afshar, R., Tricarico, J., Medel-Jiménez, F., Kukal, M. S., Gulati, D., et al. (2026). Transparent and harmonized allocation factors for crop-processing co-products in U.S. dairy rations. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 31, 180. doi:10.1007/s11367-026-02750-w
  3. Gulati, D., & Kukal, M. S. (2026). Improved water retention from soil carbon accrual delivers only marginal agrohydrological benefits under most conditions. Water Resources Research, 62(4), e2025WR041768. doi:10.1029/2025WR041768
  4. Thorp, K. R., Gulati, D., Kukal, M., Ames, R., Pokoski, T., & DeJonge, K. C. (2025). Version 1.4.0 – pyfao56: FAO-56 evapotranspiration in Python. SoftwareX, 30, 102109. doi:10.1016/j.softx.2025.102109
  5. Thorp, K. R., DeJonge, K. C., Pokoski, T., Gulati, D., Kukal, M., Farag, F., … & Holzkaemper, A. (2024). Version 1.3.0 – pyfao56: FAO-56 evapotranspiration in Python. SoftwareX, 26, 101724. doi:10.1016/j.softx.2024.101724
  6. Singla, P., Sharda, R., Sharma, S., Gulati, D., Pandey, K., Navprem, S., … & Sharma, A. (2023). Variation in physio-chemical attributes and WUE during growth and development of Pak choi (Brassica rapa L. subsp. chinensis L.) under different drip fertigation and mulching treatments. Acta Alimentaria, 52(3), 458–468. doi:10.1556/066.2023.00084
  7. Gulati, D., Satpute, S., Kaur, S., & Aggarwal, R. (2022). Estimation of potential recharge through direct seeded and transplanted rice fields in semi-arid regions of Punjab using HYDRUS-1D. Paddy and Water Environment, 1–14. doi:10.1007/s10333-021-00876-1

Presentations

  1. Assessing realism of soil water balance estimates of ET using OpenET in Idaho. OpenET Conference 2026, Salt Lake City, UT, Nov 17, 2026. Poster
  2. FAO56-Studio: An interactive, no-code online platform for simulating FAO-56 based soil water budgets. ASABE AIM 2026, Indianapolis, IN, Jul 15, 2026. Oral
  3. Assimilation of in-situ soil moisture to constrain FAO-56 crop evapotranspiration in water-limited environments. ASABE AIM 2026, Indianapolis, IN, Jul 14, 2026. Oral
  4. Quantifying the water footprint of U.S. dairy feed across the CONUS. ASABE AIM 2026, Indianapolis, IN, Jul 14, 2026. Poster
  5. Evaluating feasibility of deficit irrigation in Idaho's Magic Valley. IWQW 2026, Boise, ID, Mar 3, 2026. Poster
  6. Revisiting potato evapotranspiration: Findings from continuous flux measurements in a commercial production field. Idaho Potato Conference 2026, Pocatello, ID, Jan 21, 2026. OralCo-author presented
  7. Increased water retention from soil carbon gain is insufficient to result in a tangible positive change in agricultural water budgets. CANVAS 2025, Salt Lake City, UT, Nov 11, 2025. Oral
  8. Assimilation of in-situ soil moisture to constrain FAO-56 crop evapotranspiration in water-limited environments. CANVAS 2025, Salt Lake City, UT, Nov 11, 2025. Oral
  9. Consumptive use & crop yield response to irrigation demand management in Idaho's Magic Valley. PNW Water Summit 2025, Boise, ID, Nov 4, 2025. Poster
  10. Increased water retention from soil carbon gain is insufficient to result in a tangible positive change in agricultural water budgets. ASABE AIM 2025, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Jul 15, 2025. Oral
  11. Deploying OpenET to access consumptive use from field to water entity scales across Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer. ASABE AIM 2025, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Jul 15, 2025. Oral
  12. Tracking evapotranspiration of applied water and effective precipitation by color-coding standardized soil water budgets. ASABE AIM 2025, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Jul 14, 2025. Oral
  13. How NRCS conservation practice standards impact agricultural water budgets? IWQW 2025, Boise, ID, Mar 3, 2025. Poster
  14. Hydrological losses under increased soil organic carbon and weather variability in different soil textures. ASA-CSSA-SSSA 2024, San Antonio, TX, Nov 11, 2024. Oral
  15. How does improving soil structure impact crop evapotranspiration and water stress across soil textures and aridity? ASA-CSSA-SSSA 2024, San Antonio, TX, Nov 11, 2024. Oral
  16. Translating soil carbon sequestration into agrohydrological outcomes across a spectrum of aridity and soil texture. ASABE AIM 2024, Anaheim, CA, Jul 30, 2024. Oral
  17. Climatic and seasonal variation in ETr to ETo ratios calculated using ASCE standardized Penman-Monteith across the contiguous U.S. ASABE AIM 2024, Anaheim, CA, Jul 29, 2024. Poster
  18. Translating soil carbon sequestration into agrohydrological outcomes across a spectrum of aridity and soil texture. NABEC 2024, State College, PA, Jul 16, 2024. Oral
  19. Climatic and seasonal variation in ETr to ETo ratios calculated using ASCE standardized Penman-Monteith across the contiguous U.S. NABEC 2024, State College, PA, Jul 15, 2024. Poster

Research proposals & grants

  • Beyond flux towers: evaluating ET models for irrigation decisions using soil water depletion as a validation target. METER Group, 2026 ($10,000 in instruments).
  • Understanding consumptive use on the ESPA: Data gaps, uncertainty, and impacts. IWRRI, 2025 Idaho Water Research Priorities, 2025 ($44,870). PI: Meetpal Kukal. Role: Key personnel.
  • Hydrologic modelling and data provisioning for development of a dairy water footprint tool for the Western U.S. Dairy Management Inc. ($86,875). PI: Meetpal Kukal. Role: Key personnel.

Honors & awards

  • 2026Grant A. Harris Fellowship, METER Group ($10,000 in instruments)
  • 2025Vanguard Award to pyfao56, Irrigation Association
  • 2025Joseph Jordan Student Research Fellowship, IWRRI ($3,500)
  • 2024Whiting Water Resources Scholarship, University of Idaho ($1,000)
  • 2024Irrigation E3 Learner, Irrigation Association
  • 2022Best M.Tech. Thesis in Agricultural Engineering, ISTE National Award
  • 2021Dr. S. D. Khepar Gold Medal, Punjab Agricultural University
  • Merit scholarships during B.Tech. and M.Tech. studies, Punjab Agricultural University

Professional development

  • Three-day APSIM workshop on crop management simulation, Iowa State University
  • Deep Learning Specialization, deeplearning.ai (Coursera)
  • Machine Learning with Python and Fundamentals of R Programming (Udemy)
  • IoT workshop on precision farming, NCPAH, Ministry of Agriculture, India

Technical skills

Programming
Python (data analysis, machine learning, Flask), R, JavaScript (Google Earth Engine)
Modeling
FAO-56 / pyfao56, HYDRUS-1D, APSIM, CROPWAT
Data & GIS
Google Earth Engine, OpenET, gridMET, PRISM, ArcGIS, eddy covariance (flux-data-qaqc)
Hardware
Arduino, NodeMCU, Raspberry Pi, low-cost environmental sensors