Durelle Scott

Area(s) of Expertise

Durelle Scott (Scotty) grew up in northeastern Pennsylvania, where he spent much of his early years exploring the outdoors. These formative years served as a basis for his interest in contributing to a sustainable future to improve human well-being. He earned a degree in civil engineering from the University of Colorado and went on to complete his M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering, studying metal chemistry in streams impacted by abandoned mines. After completing his Ph.D., he was a postdoctoral fellow at Landcare Research in New Zealand, where he investigated carbon export through the country's rivers. In 2003, he joined the U.S. Geological Survey as a National Research Council postdoctoral fellow, beginning his work on nutrient biogeochemistry in inland waters that continues today. He was a faculty member in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech from 2008-2025, and joined the the BAE department in August 2025. He has taught courses in data science, hydrologic field methods, and Green Engineering.

Publications

• Optimizing stormwater control measures for improving climate resiliency in mixed urban–rural watersheds , Blue-Green Systems (2026)
• Evaluating the combined effects of climate and land use change on hydrological response in a mixed land use watershed , Journal of Environmental Management (2025)