Personal profile
Biography
Jeffrey Walker is a Professor and Head of the Department of Civil Engineering at Monash University. He is undertaking research on soil moisture remote sensing and data assimilation, including development of the only Australian airborne capability for simulating new satellite missions for soil moisture. He is contributing to soil moisture satellite missions at both NASA and ESA, as a Science Definition Team member for the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission and Cal/val Team member for the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission respectively.
Professor Jeffrey Walker received his BEng(Civil) and BSurv degrees in 1996 with Hons 1 and University Medal from the University of Newcastle, Australia, and received his PhD in Water Resources Engineering from the same University in 2000. His PhD thesis was among the early pioneering research on estimation of root-zone soil moisture from remotely sensed surface soil moisture observations. He then joined NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre to implement his soil moisture work globally. In 2001 he moved to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Melbourne as Lecturer, where he continued his soil moisture work, including development of the only Australian airborne capability for simulating new satellite missions for soil moisture. In 2010 he was appointed as Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Monash University where he is continuing this research. He is contributing to soil moisture satellite missions at both NASA and ESA, as a Science Definition Team member for the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission and Cal/val Team member for the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission respectively.
Research area keywords
- Data Assimilation
- Land Surface Modelling
- Hydrologic Remote Sensing
- Soil Moisture
- Rainfall
- Evapotranspiration
- Flooding
- Agriculture
- Space
- Satellite
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 2 Zero Hunger -
SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation -
SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy -
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities -
SDG 13 Climate Action -
SDG 15 Life on Land
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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A near-space surveillance capability for natural disasters
Walker, J. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI))
1/01/25 → 31/12/29
Project: Research
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Feasibility study on condition assessment and remaining life prediction of full-depth asphalt pavements in toll roads
Kodikara, J. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Walker, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Sounthararajah, A. (Project Manager) & Sharp, J. (Partner Investigator (PI))
18/12/19 → 18/12/22
Project: Research
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Smart Sensing, Construction and Maintenance Monitoring: Use of L-band radiometer or other suitable sensing techniques for remote moisture measurements unbound materials and soil subgrades
Walker, J. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Lu, Y. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Kodikara, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Barker, D. (Partner Investigator (PI)) & Sounthararajah, A. (Project Manager)
1/07/19 → 30/06/24
Project: Research
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Smart Sensing, Construction and Maintenance Monitoring: Remote sensing and advanced analysis of measurements of density through the possible use of appropriate sensing techniques, including LIDAR and GPS
Kodikara, J. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Lu, Y. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Walker, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Fang, Y. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Barker, D. (Partner Investigator (PI)) & Sounthararajah, A. (Project Manager)
1/07/19 → 30/06/24
Project: Research
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SPARC: ARC Research Hub for Smart Next Generation Transport Pavements
Kodikara, J. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Walker, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Sanjayan, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Vu, L. H. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Setunge, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Wallace, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Chiu, W. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Nikraz, H. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Bouazza, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Shahin, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Gallage, C. P. K. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Kulkarni, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Bui, H. H. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Coxon, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Rajeev, P. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Lu, Y. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Giustozzi, F. (Chief Investigator (CI)), White, G. W. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Fang, Y. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Robert, D. J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Zhou, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Molotnikov, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Xue, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Shackleton, M. C. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Papacostas, A. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Tan, J. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Kuen, T. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Ramanujam, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Zhong, J. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Shahkolahi, A. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Gibbs, D. T. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Gu, H. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Hoogendoorn, S. P. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Maina, J. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Underwood, B. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Singh, D. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Chabot, A. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Henning, T. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Sheng, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Airey, G. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Yeaman, J. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Palma, R. S. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Guppy, R. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Muller, W. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Thirugnanasundralingam, K. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Dack, S. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Chow, R. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Arashpour, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), D'Angelo, A. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Albrecht, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Rong, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Xu, B. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Barker, D. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Sounthararajah, A. (Project Manager), Fletcher, W. (Partner Investigator (PI)) & Marques, P. (Partner Investigator (PI))
ARC - Australian Research Council, Transurban Limited (trading as Transurban Linkt), Monash University – Internal University Contribution, Monash University – Internal Faculty Contribution, EIC Activities Pty Ltd, Monash University – Internal Department Contribution, TGVK Pty Ltd, Earth Radar Pty Ltd, EON Reality Pte Ltd, Jaybro Group Pty Ltd (trading as Polyfabrics Australasia Pty Ltd), Monash City Council, University of Technology (UTS) Sydney
1/07/19 → 30/06/25
Project: Research
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Consistent Soil Moisture and Vegetation Optical Depth from Relatively Calibrated SMOS Brightness Temperatures with SMAP
Chaubell, J., Yueh, S., Colliander, A., Hayashi, A., Bindlish, R., Dunbar, S., Entekhabi, D., Asanuma, J., Berg, A., Coffin, A., Cosh, M., Flerchinger, G., Fortuna, A., Collins, C. H., Lychuk, T., Martinez-Fernandez, J., Moore, K., Su, Z. & Walker, J., 20 Feb 2026, In: IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing. 19, p. 9174-9193 20 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Evaluating Soil Surface Scattering Models: Perspectives from Polarimetric P-, L- and S-Band SAR Observations
Xiong, Z., Walker, J. P., Zhu, L., Ng, B., Ye, N., Wu, X., Zhou, L., White Murillo, L. F., Hills, J., Moghaddam, M. & Yueh, S., 10 Feb 2026, In: IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing. 64, 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
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Microwave Convective Drying and Predictive Modelling of Compacted Unbound Granular Materials
Athmarajah, G., Tophel, A., Walker, J. P. & Kodikara, J., 2026, In: Geotechnical and Geological Engineering. 44, 1, 29 p., 45.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
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Soil moisture retrieval from Sentinel-1: Lessons learned after more than a decade in orbit
Rahmati, M., Balenzano, A., Bechtold, M., Brocca, L., Fluhrer, A., Jagdhuber, T., Karamvasis, K., Mengen, D., Reichle, R. H., Kim, S. B., Taghizadeh-Mehrjardi, R., Walker, J., Zhu, L. & Montzka, C., 15 Jan 2026, In: Remote Sensing of Environment. 333, 25 p., 115146.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access7 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus) -
Wideband Radiometry from P to S Band for Monitoring Polar Regions
Macelloni, G., Jezek, K. C., Brogioni, M., Johnson, J. T., Leduc-Leballeur, M., Picard, G., Haddjeri, A., Kaleschke, L., Boutin, J., Vergely, J. L., Kolodziejczyk, N., Bertino, L., Dinnat, E. P., Tonboe, R. T., Solgaard, A. M., Shen, X., Walker, J. P., Svendsen, S. H., Lhermitte, S. & Zhou, Y., 23 Jan 2026, (Accepted/In press) In: Proceedings of the IEEE. 23 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access1 Link opens in a new tab Citation (Scopus)
Prizes
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SSSI Educational Development Award
Walker, J. (Recipient), 2014
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)