Sorooshian was born in a Zoroastrian family in Kerman, Iran. He did his primary education in Kerman before moving to United States in 1966. He got his bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and MSc and PhD from UCLA in systems engineering. Soroosh Sorooshian is the Director of the Center for Hydrometeorology & Remote Sensing (CHRS) and Distinguished Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Earth System Science Departments at UC Irvine. Prior to 2003, he was a faculty at the University of Arizona for 20 years. His area of expertise is Hydrometeorology, water resources systems, climate studies and application of remote sensing to earth science problems with special focus on the hydrologic cycle and water resources issues of arid and semi-arid zones. He also consults on problems related to surface hydrology and urban flooding. He is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE); Member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA); Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and serves as a Member-at-Large, Section on Atmospheric & Hydrospheric Sciences; Fellow, American Geophysical Union (AGU) and serves as a member of the Board of Directors; Fellow, American Meteorological Society (AMS); Fellow, International Water Resources Association (IWRA); Member, Joint Scientific Committee, (JSC) of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP); Past Chair, Science Steering Group (SSG) of Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP); U.S. Member of the Hydrology Commission for WMO; Emeritus member of UCAR Board of Trustees and NOAA Science Advisory Board; Past-President of AGU's Hydrology Section; member of five editorial boards and former editor of AGU's Water Resources Research. He has served on numerous advisory committees, including those of NASA, NOAA, DOE, USDA, NSF, EPA, and UNESCO. Current member of the National Research Council’s (NRC) Space Study Board (SSB) and past member of the Water Science and Technology Board (WSTB).