Alex Huizenga

Alex came to CSU from the lush, green mountains and valleys of Vermont. After graduating with a BS in Environmental Science from the University of Vermont he worked at an environmental consulting firm for two years as an Environmental Technician. Working in the water quality and engineering fields made him realize that water resources engineering was his next step.

Alex's research involves groundwater and surface water quality sampling along the Lower Arkansas River in southeast Colorado. The region is primarily used for agriculture and is highly irrigated. The sampling data is the basis for a nutrient and salt mass balance analysis on a reach of the Arkansas River and a contributing tributary. This mass balance will provide information on the speciation of nitrogen and phosphorus as these nutrients are exchanged between groundwater and surface water in riparian and agricultural zones. This research will provide a better understanding of the small-scale (space and time) mass transport of nutrients in the riparian-stream system. It will also serve as a stepping stone for better representing the hyporheic zone and groundwater/surface water interactions in water quality and hydrologic models.

Corey Wallace

Corey came to CSU as an undergraduate student initially unsure of his interests. Though he completed coursework in various facets of Civil Engineering, his passion for water engineering wasn’t sparked until after a brief stint as a lab assistant at the Engineering Research Center operating physical river models. He went on to work with Dr. Timothy Gates not only collecting field data, but also analyzing the implications of groundwater and sediment transport processes. Having had the opportunity to explore both surface and groundwater, he sought further experience as a graduate student.

During his search for a graduate program, Corey discovered numerical modeling for water resources analysis. His MS work involves groundwater and solute transport modeling to analyze the behavior of the freshwater lens beneath small atoll islands in the Western Pacific. The results from his studies will benefit island communities by providing them with tools for approximating the volume of water in the lenses under various climatic conditions. He has also done research on rainwater catchment systems in Micronesia and is adapting the results into analytic tools to be used by island communities in the region.

Ravi Kumar Tummalapenta

Ravi is from India, where he completed his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering and a graduate degree in Environmental Engineering, with his thesis completed on Environmental Risk Management of a Landfill at IIT Delhi. After graduation he worked for a couple of consultancies where he was involved in water supply and storm water related projects. Also he developed design spreadsheets for the storm water collection equipment’s efficiency, which increased his attention towards developing technical software related to water.

Ravi came to Colorado State University to pursue studies and research in the Groundwater program. He is currently is involved with research regarding the modeling of the fate and transport of Selenium and Nitrate within both ground water and surface water in the Lower Arkansas River Valley (LARV) in southeastern Colorado. A recently-calibrated MODFLOW model is used for the groundwater flow estimations, and UZF-RT3D is used to simulate the chemical cycling and reactive transport of Selenium and Nitrogen species in the coupled aquifer-stream system. The model will be used to test various land- and water-management alternatives for Selenium and Nitrate remediation in the river basin.

Brent Heesemann

I was born in Louisville, KY, but lived most of my life in Albany, NY. I moved to Fort Collins about a year ago with my wife and our dog to attend graduate school at CSU. I enjoy just about anything that involves being outside; I regularly run, hike, mountain bike, or just take my dog for a walk. With all of the outdoor opportunities that Fort Collins has to offer, my first year in Colorado has been a lot of fun.

I am in the Water Resources Planning and Management graduate program at CSU. My interests include water supply and distribution, reservoir design and operation, optimization, and large-scale hydrologic systems. I am currently working on the development and calibration of a groundwater- surface water coupled model used to predict water quality conditions in Colorado’s Lower Arkansas River Valley. Once the model is calibrated, it will be used to assess the impacts of changes in agricultural practices on in-stream concentrations of selenium and nitrate. Model predictions and socio-economic conditions in the Lower Arkansas River Valley will determine which agricultural best management practices(s) are the most feasible for improving water resources in the region.

Current Students

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