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10-14-05
By David Stauth, 541-737-0787
SOURCE: Michael Campana, 505-277-5249
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Michael E. Campana, a hydrogeologist and international expert on a range of complex water management issues, has been named the director of the Institute for Water and Watersheds at Oregon State University.
 Michael Campana Click on image to go to downloadable photo |
Campana, who received a doctorate in hydrology from the University of Arizona, has done extensive research on water resources in developing countries, transboundary water resource issues, water allocation and availability, and other areas. He is also founder and president of a charitable foundation that funds and undertakes water, health and sanitation projects in developing nations.
"Oregon is facing a variety of water and environmental problems," Campana said. "OSU's water expertise must be brought to bear in solving these problems, and the Institute for Water and Watersheds needs to reach a point where it is the first organization Oregonians think of when water issues arise."
Campana said he hopes to focus the institute's efforts on large, multidisciplinary, long-term projects, and significantly increase external funding for water research activities at the university, which is now about $11 million a year. He also hopes to boost educational and outreach programs, aid the creation of science-based water policy, bring more leading national experts to Oregon for lectures and other work, and develop more student scholarships for OSU water programs.
Much of his recent work has been in foreign countries in Central America, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia, Campana said, and he plans to increase OSU's international visibility in projects such as this. Campana has served on a number of federal research committees, is the past chair of the 10,000-member Association of Ground Water Scientists and Engineers, and has participated in many other national and international water research and management initiatives.
About Oregon State University: OSU is one of only two U.S. universities designated a land grant, sea grant, space grant and sun grant institution. Its more than 19,000 students come from all 50 states and more than 80 countries. An emphasis on water and watersheds is one of the university's six strategic initiatives for research and outreach.