Watching the snow: monitoring Oregon's water supply (Powered by Orange, 9/18/09) - Video and question and answer where Travis Roth, a PhD student in water resource engineering describes his research in groundwater movement and snowmelt, and how future climate change may affect both.
The theme for the Fall 2009 Water Resources Seminar Series is Corruption and Ethics Issues in Water Resources. The seminars are held weekly on Wednesdays from 4:00-5:00 pm in Owen Hall Room 102. Seminars are open to the public and students can enroll for credit. Link to the seminar schedule (PDF).
Our 2009 Awards were presented on May 28. Read a summary of the award winners in the June H2OSU campus water newsletter.
The 2009 Water Resources Graduate Program Open House will be held from 9 am to 4:30 pm on Wednesday, January 28th . There will be a staffed information table and posters in the OSU Memorial Union, Room 109, from 9 am to 3:30 pm, and presentations by students and faculty in the morning from 9 am to noon. Coffee, tea, and informal conversation will be available in MU 109 all morning, followed by a poster session including refreshments in the afternoon from 1:30-3:30 pm. Our $100 Best Poster award will be presented at 3:15 pm.
Download the open house schedule -- WRGPOpenHouseSchedule2009.pdf.
Faculty member of the month:
Dr. Roy Haggerty, Department of Geosciences.
Dr. Roy Haggerty came to Oregon State University in 1996 after receiving his PhD from Stanford University. When he's not in the classroom teaching hydrogeology, or in his office advising students, you might find him out in a streambed in chest-waders; teaching a laboratory section of Geology students to measure stream velocity and calculate discharge. Or, he could be conducting tracer tests to study the exchange of water and solutes between the surface and sub-surface zones of streams, or even helping his graduate students to install wells at the H.J. Andrews Long Term Ecological Research site.
Dr. Haggerty is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geosciences, and served as the first Associate Director for the Water Resources Science degree program in the Water Resources Graduate Program. He and his students have studied the exchange of water between streams and the shallow subsurface (the hyporheic zone), nitrate transport through sediments below agricultural lands in Oregon, groundwater flow modeling, and the physics of solute transport in highly heterogeneous materials. Student research projects have included studying the role of groundwater in geologic processes, nuclear waste disposal, mathematical modeling of solute transport, and stream turbidity. Recent funding for research has come from the USGS, Dept. of Energy, National Science Foundation, Sandia National Laboratories, and state agencies in Oregon.
"Roy is a quiet but effective leader in water-related research and education." said Dr. Mary Santelmann, Director of the Water Resources Graduate Program. "His experience and guidance as Associate Director for the Water Resources Science degree program has been invaluable in establishing a strong program that meets the needs of the students."
Roy is also an active advocate for OSU and for water-related research within and beyond the halls of the University. Haggerty and colleagues Denise Lach, Stan Gregory, and John Bolte recently led a team of about 40 OSU faculty members in the successful development of the Water and Watersheds Initiative that established the new Institute for Water and Watersheds, and brought Michael Campana to Oregon State University as its first Director.
In 2006-2007, Roy Haggerty will be on sabbatical in Spain. We expect that he'll return with a great tan and his characteristic enthusiasm in fall of 2007.
Read about current activities of the OSU water resources community in H2OSU, the newsletter of the Institute for Water and Watersheds.
The first annual Water Resources Graduate Program Awards Lunch was held on May 31, 2006. We had delicious pizza and a chance to connect and celebrate the achievements of our program, our students, and alumni.
The Kenneth J. Williamson Water Prize was awarded to Todd Jarvis. This is an award for academic excellence, our most prestigious award, given to a student whose major or minor field is one of the fields of the Water Resources Graduate Program, and whom our program expects to become a leader in one of the water resources fields.
This year's Williamson Water Prize winner, Todd Jarvis, will be defending his PhD dissertation in June. He comes to OSU with over a decade of experience as a professional engineer, as well as experience in groundwater management, and a desire to learn about water conflict and conflict management with his major advisor, Aaron Wolf. He has a major in Geography and a minor in Water Resources Policy and Management as well as an integrated minor in Water Conflict Resolution, Policy and Education.
The Water Resources Faculty Award was presented to two students in 2006; Glenn Mutti and Mark Porter. This is an award for excellence in representing OSU through publication of a paper, giving an oral presentation, or presenting a poster that helps to showcase the leadership of the OSU Water Resources Graduate Program through the professionalism and excellence of its graduate students.
Glenn Mutti completed his MS degree with a double major in Water Resources Science and Geology, working with advisor Roy Haggerty. His work has been presented numerous places, including our WRGP Open House, the Southern Willamette Valley Groundwater Management Association. Glenn also served as the first graduate student member of our External Advisory Board, which met for the first time at our Open House in February.
Mark Porter, a student in the Water Resources Engineering program, has represented Oregon State University through poster presentations of his research at Geologic Society of America and at the WRGP Open House. He will be presenting a paper on his research in Copenhagen, Denmark in June. He is working on his PhD in Water Resources Engineering with Dorthe Wildenschild as his major advisor.
The Water Resources Alumni Scholarship Award was conferred upon Erika Kraft. This award is intended for bright, energetic students in the WRGP who excel at leadership and service to the water resources community as well as in their field of study. This $250 award is supported through donations from OSU alumni to the Water Resources Graduate Program Alumni Scholarship fund.
Erika Kraft is President of the Hydrophiles student organization, and is a doctoral student majoring in Water Resources Engineering, with John Selker as her major advisor. Her leadership has been evident in many of the successful activities sponsored by the Hydrophiles this past year, in seminar series as well as the usual social events.
The Distinguished Alumnus Award was presented to Dr. Scott Waichler, who has been a leader in supporting and promoting the Oregon State University Water Resources Graduate Program. Dr. Waichler, who received his PhD in 2000 from the Bioengineering Department, was one of several distinguished speakers in the Hydrophiles winter seminar series for 2006. His leadership and donations established the Water Resources Graduate Program Alumni Scholarship Fund.