Please join us on Tuesday January 15th for our first MLK Celebration in the Dawes House, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King and his vision for peaceful yet profound change in the world. Come and have some birthday cake and chat with other students in the program from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The Dawes House is located on Monroe Street, across from the Tarntip, American Dream and Bombs Away restaurants.
2008 Open House will be held on Wednesday, February 27th, 2008 from 9:00 am to 4:00 p.m. in the Memorial Union, Suite 109. You'll meet current and prospective students, and will be able to attend presentations and a poster session presented by our students and faculty members. This year there will also be a Water Film Festival hosted by the Institute for Water and Watersheds. We look forward to seeing you there! A more detailed schedule will be forthcoming!
Our 2008 Awards Day will be held at the end of May – date to be announced
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.
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.