Professor Alemayehu Muluneh Bitew, one of the nine scholars who were promoted to full professorship on June 15, 2026 is an outstanding academician, researcher and leader at the Institute of Technology, Hawassa University.
Prof. Alemayehu's academic journey began with earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Engineering and Mechanization with Distinction from Debub University (Now Hawassa university) in 2003; followed by MSc in International Land and Water Management from Wageningen University, the Netherlands, in 2006, and his PhD in Environmental Sciences in 2015 from Wageningen University again.
He also completed advanced training and research in Land Degradation Assessment and Land Restoration in 2010, through the United Nations University Fellowship at the Agricultural University of Iceland, Reykjavík.
Professor Alemayehu has been serving in various academic, research, and leadership capacities at IOT, Hawassa universitqy for the past two decades. In addition to teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses in Climate Science, Hydrology, Land and Watershed Management, he supervised supervised 52 MSc theses and is currently supervising 8 PhD research projects.
Professor Alemayehu's research focuses on investigating how interactions between regional climate change and local anthropogenic land-use modifications influence hydrological processes, accelerate land degradation, and threaten regional food security, while developing and evaluating locally appropriate adaptation and management strategies. He has published 55 scientific papers and 8 conference proceedings.
Professor Alemayehu has served as Principal Researcher and Coordinator of 20 collaborative projects involving applied research, research-based consultancy, and community service works in partnership with national and international organizations including the International Foundation for Science, Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy, and the Ethiopian Water Technology Institute. His work has contributed to agricultural water management, landscape restoration, drought resilience, sustainable land and water management, and irrigation development across Sidama, Southwest Ethiopia, Oromia, and Central Ethiopia regions.
Hawassa University honoured Prof. Alemayehu with the “Top Researcher” Award at the Institute of Technology in recognition of his outstanding contributions, and now he is promoted to a Professor of Climate Change and Environmental Science.
Congratulations Professor Alemayehu!