Spencer Livingston is the Assistant Director of GWSC Technology, where he provides technical leadership for the computing systems that support the Global Water Security Center’s research and operational activities. His professional background spans software development, database systems, geospatial technologies, cloud services, and the design of applications that support government and environmental decision-making. Throughout his career, Spencer has worked closely with interdisciplinary teams of software developers, engineers, analysts, project managers, and government partners, often serving as the technical point of contact responsible for translating operational and analytical needs into practical technology solutions.

Before joining GWSC, Spencer worked as a Programmer Analyst at The University of Alabama’s Center for the Advancement of Public Safety, where he led the design and development of web-based data management, workflow, mapping, and reporting systems for state government agencies. His work included developing systems for environmental sampling, transportation infrastructure, project and document workflows, and other operational applications. His experience includes both technical implementation and project leadership, with an emphasis on building systems that provide consistent, maintainable workflows while retaining the flexibility needed to support specialized analysis and changing user requirements.

Spencer’s academic work complements his technical background with research in hydrology, extreme floods, environmental hazards, and water-risk analysis. As a doctoral student in Geography at The University of Alabama, he applies statistical analysis, flood-frequency methods, hydrologic modeling, GIS, and machine-learning techniques to environmental datasets. His research has included reconstructing streamflow from tree-ring and drought-index data through the NRT Water: R2O program in collaboration with CIROH, as well as examining the temporal clustering of extreme floods in the Tennessee River Basin.

Spencer earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Management Information Systems from The University of Alabama and is currently pursuing a PhD in Geography at The University of Alabama.