Professor Honored with National Award for Work on Worldwide Irrigation Water Management

Wayne Clyma, professor emeritus of civil engineering at Colorado State University, has been honored with the 2009 Kishida International Award by The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. The award recognizes Clyma's interdisciplinary approaches in the improvement of worldwide irrigation water management through teaching, research and consulting.

Clyma received the award - with $1,000 - at the ASABE Annual International Meeting on June 24 in Reno, Nev.

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Department of the Interior awards CSU & Dr. Jose Salas with the Partners in Conservation Award

In Washington D.C. on May 7th, 2009, the Department of the Interior presented the Partners in Conservation Award to several organizations that contributed in developing the "Colorado River Interim Guidelines". Among them, Colorado State University (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering) along with three other universities were recognized for helping in the effort.

The contribution of Colorado State University, has been through two back to back research projects dealing with Stochastic Hydrology of the Colorado River. In these projects Dr. Salas and graduate students utilized innovative record extension techniques for updating the data base of naturalized flows of the Colorado River system, developed new approaches for reconstructing streamflows of the Colorado River based on tree ring indices, developed potential scenarios of streamflows that may occur in the Colorado in future years, characterized multiyear droughts of the Colorado using simulation and mathematical techniques, and tested the effects of stochastic streamflows on the operations of the Colorado River system, particularly the effects on reservoir levels and outflows of the two major lakes, i.e. Lake Powell and Lake Mead.

Additionally the project helped improving the software SAMS (Stochastic Analysis, Modeling, and Simulation), software developed at CSU for stochastic simulation of hydrological data. Two Ph.D. students T.S. Lee and Z. Tarawneh were funded by the referred projects. Also Ph.D. students C.J. Fu and D.J. Lee and M.S. student J. Keedy collaborated in some parts of the projects.

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Celebration of CE Emeritus Professor Maurice Albertson's Life

Maurice L. Albertson, a civil engineering emeritus professor who played a critical role in the creation of the Peace Corps, died on Jan. 11, 2009, at age 90. The Celebration of Life for Maurice (Maury) Albertson is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 14 at 10 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 1005 Stover Street in Fort Collins.

For more information about Maury Albertson's incredible life and accomplishments, click here.

In Memory of Dr. James Warner

On December 18, 2008, Dr. James Walter Warner passed away suddenly. He was a faculty member of CSU's Civil Engineering department since 1981 and during that time he was awarded the Excellence in Teaching award and served as the CSU Groundwater Engineering program leader. He was also a recognized expert in the Groundwater field. He was very dedicated to his students and to Colorado State University.

He is survived by his wife, Kathy Warner, his six children and twelve grandchildren. He will be greatly missed and our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.

Yang Receives the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize

Saudi Arabia recently honored Chih Ted Yang, a civil engineering professor at Colorado State University, with the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water, one of the world's most prestigious awards for water-related subjects, for his work on Sedimentation Control in Surface Water Systems. Over 70 people competed for this prize and the award comes with a personal award of $133,000.

Yang is the Borland Professor of Water Resources and director of the Hydroscience and Training Center in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Colorado State University.

Click HERE to learn more about Prof. Yang's research in sediment transport and river morphology.

Professor Salas, Member of the Academy of Engineering of Mexico

On November 7th, 2008, Jose D. Salas, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering was selected as a corresponding (foreign) member of the Academy of Engineering of Mexico (AEM). The admission ceremony was held at the Engineering Conference Hall of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Ing. N. Dominguez, Administrative Director of AEM described the process of admission as corresponding member and Dr. Octavio Rascon, President of the Academy presented a medal and a diploma to Dr. Salas, which represent the symbols of the membership. The Academy of Engineering awards membership to successful professionals that make significant contributions to engineering practice, research, and teaching. The nomination of Professor Salas highlighted his contributions in the field of stochastic hydrology and its applications to water resources planning and management.

Dr. Salas enjoyed visiting with members of the Academy and UNAM, and touring the City of Mexico. He will continue serving in the Editorial Board of the Journal of Hydraulics of Mexico and came back with the promise of returning to Mexico in the near future.

Sustainability and Public Works

Developing green cities is one of the most important goals in achieving a sustainable society. The American Public Works Association (APWA) has recently appointed a task force to recommend how engineers and infrastructure managers can take leadership across their responsibilities in engineering, management, and the different functions of public works.

Dr. Neil Grigg, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Colorado State, was appointed to the task force to represent APWA’s Engineering and Technology Committee. APWA leaders think that engineers and public works managers can take the lead in planning and building systems to achieve sustainability. A few examples they cite are: reducing paved surface areas and maintaining tree cover; pavement rehabilitation that reuses materials; natural drainage systems; LEED certification program for entire cities; low impact development (LID); environmental improvement; local food production; affordable housing; transportation systems that work for all; abundant recreation and outdoor opportunities; and minimum carbon footprint.

Alumni 50-Year Club award winner, Everett Richardson

The CSU Alumni Association and the 50-Year Club are proud to announce the 2008 winner of the 50-Year Club Outstanding Recognition Award, Everett Richardson.

Everett Richardson ('49, '60, '65) has a bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree in civil engineering from Colorado State University. He started his career as a hydraulic engineer and associate director of research for the U.S. Geological Survey from 1949-1968.

In 1968, Richardson joined CSU as a faculty member, and is professor emeritus of civil engineering, having taught for 20 years (1968-1988). From 1968-1983 he was administrator of the Engineering Research Center at CSU, and from 1984-1988 he was the professor in charge of the hydraulics program and director of the hydraulics laboratory.

Richardson has vast experience with international projects, including research and response projects for the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, and river development studies in the United States, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, and Venezuela. He is a professional engineer (P.E.) with the state of Colorado and a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is a senior associate at Ayres Associates in Fort Collins.

Richardson's wife, Billie (Kleckner), is a 1948 alumna, and all of their children are alumni: Thomas E. Richardson, '74; Gail Frick, '75; Jerry R. Richardson, '80. Richardson is a Life Member of the Alumni Association. To visit the CSU Alumni Association, go to http://www.csualum.com.

Contact Elizabeth Etter for more information about this article

Study seeks to look at water needs of whole basin

by Chris Woodka
The Pueblo Chieftain

Moving water, either through sales or leases of agricultural rights to cities, will always have consequences for both water supply and quality. Better understanding those consequences for the Arkansas River is the goal of an ambitious study proposed by Colorado State University professors Tim Gates and John Labadie. The roundtable sent the CSU request for $1.65 million to the Colorado Water Conservation Board.

"We can't deal with a problem of moving water either in or out of the basin without looking at the entire basin," Labadie told the Arkansas River basin, we can use it to improve efficiency and still meet the needs of water rights and the Arkansas River Compact."

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"Chase the Wind" Transportation Safety Studies on I-70

If you have ever watched the movie "Twister", you may still remember those scientists who chased the tornado using those sensors floating in the air. CSU researchers recently also chased strong wind along I-70 with various sensors.

Dr. Suren Chen (PI) and Dr. Juhua Liu (co-PI) with two graduate students in Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at CSU have been working on a research project entitled "Traffic Safety Vulnerability Information Platform (TS-VIP) for Highways in Mountainous Areas Using Geospatial Multimedia Technology", which is sponsored by Mountain-Plains Consortium (MPC)-a USDOT university transportation research center. The research team integrates an advanced 3-D ultrasonic anemometer for wind measurements, a NI mobile data acquisition system for vehicle dynamics, three accelerometers, and a GPS-based video mapping system (VMS) for collecting geospatial multimedia information of the Interstate highway. The overall goal of the project is to develop a framework and web-based platform of a “Transportation Safety Vulnerability map” with traffic safety characteristics on feature points.

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Lessons Learned from Tornado Damage Investigations

In the wake of the Windsor tragedy and as we approach the heart of tornado season along eastern Plains, it's a good opportunity to review the major strides scientists have made in improving lives through structural engineering - and the work still ahead.

In addition to being an innovator in renewable energy, Colorado has a potential to become regional (and with appropriate institutional support) national leader in providing science-based and sustainability engineering-oriented solutions to reduce wind-induced direct and indirect losses. Organizations such as Colorado State University are working on advancing fundamental and applied research focused on new solutions to reduce wind-induced property and human losses.

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Graywater Irrigation

If Sybil Sharvelle has her way, your daily showers will bring flowers. An assistant professor in the civil and environmental engineering department, Sharvelle’s area of expertise is biological waste processing.

Currently, her research focuses on the reuse of household graywater from baths, showers, hand sinks, and laundry for landscape irrigation.

Graywater is diverted through a separate plumbing system to a storage tank, while water from the kitchen sink and toilet continues through the sewer system.

"We're looking at irrigation of landscape only," Sharvelle says. "Because graywater can contain very small amounts of fecal material, it is not known to be safe for use in food gardens."

Read the full story from the CE Spring 08 Newsletter.

Studies of Photovoltaic Roofing Systems

Departmental involvement in development of renewable energy systems includes research and service activities carried out at the Wind Engineering and Fluids Laboratory (WEFL, www.windlab.colostate.edu), under guidance of Dr. B. Bienkiewicz. These efforts have been primarily focused on development of optimized wind resistant photovoltaic (PV) roofing systems. The WEFL’s team has assisted several companies developing such products. The most prominent on this list is SunPower Corporation (www.sunpowercorp.com), a leading US provider of a variety of photovoltaic systems installed worldwide.

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Dr. Brian Bledsoe Receives the Fulbright Award

Dr. Brian Bledsoe was one of two Colorado State University faculty members to be awarded Fulbright Scholar grants to lecture and conduct research abroad.

Bledsoe will leave in March for the Universidad de Concepcion in Chile for the 2008 academic year. He will host interdisciplinary river seminars about managing river flows and stream monitoring for environmental scientists, aquatic ecologists and engineers.

In Chile, Bledsoe will research how hydrologic and geomorphic processes influence variations in stream ecology around the landscape. He will also focus on environmental flows below dams, balancing how much water is needed to sustain a healthy ecosystem while fulfilling human needs.

About 800 U.S. faculty and professionals will travel abroad through the Fulbright Scholar Program. Established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the program's purpose is to build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the rest of the world.

Story by Emily Narvaes Wilmsen

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Dr. Amy Pruden Receives Presidential Early Career Award

Dr. Amy J. Pruden-Bagchi was one of two Colorado State University faculty members to be honored by President George Bush on Thursday, November 1 with the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering.

This program recognizes outstanding scientists and engineers who, early in their careers, show exceptional potential for leadership at the frontiers of knowledge. This presidential award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers.

Pruden-Bagchi, nominated by the National Science Foundation, is recognized for research using molecular biology to investigate the pathways, mitigation and treatment of antibiotic-resistant genes in the environment.

Story by Emily Narvaes Wilmsen

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