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Student Water Club Informational Meeting & Pizza Friday, February 10 @ 12:00 in Paccar 305

On behalf of the water sciences and engineering groups at Washington State University, I’d like to announce the formation of the Water Club at WSU, where undergraduate and graduate students interested in water-related sciences can have a hands-on opportunity to experience each other’s research, share in new opportunities, and socialize in a relaxed environment. 

This contingent will largely be run by graduate and undergraduate students, meaning that we are in control of what its mission, function, vitality and visibility. Potential activities may include, but are not limited to student-run research projects, opportunities to get involved in and acquainted with water related studies across sciences and humanities, and opportunities for professional development, social activities, and volunteer opportunities. Above all, this will be a contingent run by students and for students. No prior background with water-related study is required! 

We will have a brown-bag informational meeting with pizza courtesy of the Water Research Center on Friday, February 10 12:00-1:00 pm in VCEA Paccar Building, Room 305. 

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to email Michael Meyer (michael.f.meyer@wsu.edu) or Julie Padowski (julie.padowski@wsu.edu). 

 

WaterSmart Innovations Conference and Exposition Issues Call for Abstracts

October 4-6, 2017 in Las Vegas, NV.

Professionals, scientists, government employees, organizations, public and private institutions, policy makers, students, and all others working in an industry related to water efficiency are invited to submit abstracts for the 10th annual WaterSmart Innovations Conference and Exposition.

The deadline for receipt of abstracts is Friday, February 10, 2017.

For additional information or to submit abstracts, click here.

Opportunity at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

This research is part of a larger effort to understand, model, and improve drought resilience, especially in the face of changing water demands and changing climate. This fellowship will focus on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) aspects of drought resilience, building on existing approaches. LCA is a tool to avoid shifting impacts in time, space, or environmental media, and there is a need to improve characterization of water use in this systems framework.

Location: Cincinnati, OH.

For more information

 

MODFLOW and More 2017 “Modeling for Sustainability and Adaptation”

Abstracts are due Friday, January 20th.

This conference covers a wide range of topics related to simulating eco-hydro-bio-geochemical systems and offers opportunities to interact with some of the most prominent figures in numerical modeling of hydrologic systems.  Sessions will focus on groundwater quality and quantity, including aquifer recharge, mining, contaminant transport, as well as modeling methods and analysis and data visualization.
Conference and abstract submission information

Pacific Northwest Water Research Symposium

Hosted by the Oregon State University Hydrophiles, on March 6th-7th 2017

The abstract deadline is this Friday, Feb 1! Registration is free!

The purpose of this symposium is to foster connections between students and professionals across a variety of water resources fields. The symposium offers interactive learning opportunities through workshops, networking, and presentations of current student research in the fields of water resources science, engineering, and policy. This year’s keynote speaker will be Tom Byler, Director of the Oregon Water Resources Department. Graduate and undergraduate students from universities across the Pacific Northwest and beyond have the opportunity to share their research with a diverse audience. Conference website

Skagit Basin Water Mitigation Feasibility Assessment Seminar

Dr. Michael Brady, School of Economic Sciences, WSU

Wednesday, Feb 1, 2017 PACCAR room 202, 3:10pm WSU Pullman

In 2013, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled against a 2001 amendment that set aside groundwater reservations for development within the Skagit River Basin.  As a consequence, hundreds of properties no longer have a secure, uninterruptible water right. The objective of this study is to identify the least cost mitigation option in a spatially explicit manner for  all of the properties whose groundwater rights  were invalidated by the 2013 Supreme Court ruling. The core analysis focuses on piping and trucking water for streamflow augmentation, but we provide coarse comparisons to other alternatives, such as storage reservoirs for winter flow capture, trucking and piping for direct consumption, and rainwater capture based on information from existing studies. Further, while we focus on mitigation for the 451 properties developed since April of 2001, we provide several general results relating to water provision for future development in the otherwise closed sub-basins. This project was funded through the Engrossed Senate Bill No. 6589 and administered through the Department of Ecology, State of Washington Water Research Center and WSU. Co-authors include: J. Padowski, Q. Yang, E. Jessup, and J. Yoder. Project development, coordination, and review was accomplished with the help of David Christensen, Thomas Buroker, John Rose, Tom Culhane and Barb Anderson at the WA Department of Ecology.

 

AMS Connections: Puyallup REC, WSU Tri-Cities, WSU Vancouver The dial up number for all sites to dial for this event is 5701907. Meeting ID 01907 http://ams.wsu.edu/Events/Events.aspx For technical assistance call 509-335-6575

Sponsor:

CEREO – The Center for Environmental Research, Education and Outreach (http://cereo.wsu.edu/) or check our online calendar for all environmental talks and events happening around campus:  http://cereo.wsu.edu/seminars/

SWWRC – State of Washington Water Research Center: ( https://wrc.wsu.edu/)

Water Resources Research National Competitive Grants Program: Announcement No. G17AS00027 104(g)

Deadline: Feb 15, 2017

Proposals are sought on the topic of improving and enhancing the nation’s water supply and availability, and promoting the exploration of new ideas that address or expand our understanding of water problems, including the following specific areas of inquiry (levels of priority are not assigned, and the order of listing does not indicate the level of priority):

  • Evaluation of innovative approaches to water treatment, infrastructure design, retrofitting, maintenance, management and replacement.
  • Exploration and advancement of our understanding of changes in the quantity and quality of water resources in response to a changing climate, population shifts, and land use changes; including associated economic, environmental, social, and/or infrastructure costs.
  • Development of methods for better estimation of water supply, both surface and groundwater, including estimation of the physical and/or economic supply of water.
  • Development and evaluation of processes and governance mechanisms for integrated surface/ground water management.
  • Evaluation and assessment of the effects of water conservation practices, as well as adoption, penetration and permanence.

For more information and to apply.

 

Ph.D. FELLOWSHIPS AT UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA WATER INSTITUTE:

Inducing Resilience for Water-Subsidized Systems

The University of Florida Water Institute is seeking 6 highly motivated doctoral-degree students for Fellowships that provide an annual stipend, tuition waiver and health insurance for 4 years starting fall term 2017. 

 These PhD students will work collaboratively within this interdisciplinary team of Fellows and their faculty advisors. The focus project takes a comprehensive systems approach to analysis of interbasin transfer of surface water into the Tempisque River watershed in Costa Rica. This water transfer has altered hydrology, land use, economic structure, and health of the downstream Palo Verde wetland in the Tempisque watershed. 

 Each student will develop a selected disciplinary expertise on the system while becoming well-rounded and knowledgeable in all other disciplinary aspects of the project. While pursuing a PhD in their respective department, all students will be located together in the same office in order to encourage interdisciplinary research discussions. As such, beyond the usual criteria of academic excellence, we will look especially for open-minded candidates eager to work across disciplines and willing to become proficient in Spanish in order to gain a deeper appreciation of the issues.

 Applicants should have a strong demonstrated interest in water issues and either a Master’s degree in natural sciences, social sciences, or engineering, or a JD degree. Exceptional students with a Bachelor’s degree plus research experience in an appropriate discipline will also be considered. Persons from groups under-represented in science and engineering professions are encouraged to apply.

 For more information and to apply for a Fellowship, go to http://waterinstitute.ufl.edu/WIGF/2017Cohort/Overview_2017.html.
·         Fellowship applications are due to the UF Water Institute by January 16, 2017.
·         Promising candidates will be invited to University of Florida for a 2-day visit in February 2017.
For additional questions, contact Carol Lippincott, Water Institute Research Coordinator, at calippincott@ufl.edu or 352-294-7744.