Germán is a civil engineer from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Medellín). He has a Master’s degree in Utilization of Hydraulic Resources from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and another Master’s degree in Engineering Sciences from the University of California, Davis. His Ph.D. is in Hydraulic Resources from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and did his post-doctorate in hydro-ecology at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Since 1990 he has been an integral member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a global organization composed of scientists that won the Nobel Peace Price in 2007. He was one of the principal authors of the Latin American Chapter for the IPCC Reports No.3 (2001), No.4 (2007) and No.5 (2014).
He is a full member of the Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales (Colombian Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences) and a member of Spain’s Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences. He has won the Fundación Alejandro Ángel Escobar Award – in 1999 in the category of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences and in 2000 and 2007 in the category of Environment and Sustainable Development – and has won 3 honorable mentions as well.
