UF Water Institute Newsletter - March 2013

 

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser .               UF Water Institute NewsFlow March 15, 2013 Volume II, Issue 2     Supporting collaboration for a sustainable water future through innovative interdisciplinary research, education, and public outreach programs.   Become a Water Institute Affiliate faculty member Join our ListServs Search Water Institute Faculty Projects Contact Us   A word from the Director: At the Water Institute, faculty, students and stakeholders are working together on collaborative proposals, integrated research projects, innovative educational models, and stakeholder-scientist networks focused on finding solutions for an array of complex challenges to sustainable water resources. Engagement and collaboration among diverse participants characterize UF Water Institute programs. The UF Water Institute Biennial Symposium is a flagship event that convenes people from the academic, policy, management and private sectors with a shared interest in sustaining our water resources for the future. On February 11-12, 2014 we will host the 4th UF Water Institute Biennial Symposium. Please mark your calendars and plan to participate! Click on the following links for more information on previous Symposia 2008, 2010, and 2012. Wendy Graham, Ph.D. Carl S. Swisher Chair in Water Resources Water Institute Director       RESEARCH Martinez Brings Modeling Expertise to Managing Public Water Resources     Chris Martinez (Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department), recently received NSF funding as a key partner in The South Florida Water, Sustainability and Climate Project. The integrated project is focused on increasing the resilience of water supplies to climate variability, climate change, and salt water intrusion caused by sea level rise. In particular, researchers are seeking to understand what modifications to the south Florida water management system will increase the resilience of water supplies. “Future water demand is critical to sustainable water resources,” Martinez says. He will be assisting in parameterization of agricultural water demand, evaluating future demand scenarios, and developing estimates of unregulated flows in support of the hydro-economic modeling efforts for this project. Martinez notes that the work they are doing is important to other low-lying coastal regions whose options for managing public water resources are limited, and will provide an innovative, pragmatic approach to optimizing the social-ecological benefits of water resources allocated between the built and natural environments. Read more about this project and Dr. Martinez at the UF Water Institute website.       OUTREACH Water Institute helps Advance UF/IFAS Extension Water Initiatives     “Water is, without a doubt, one of our state’s most critical issues,” Jack Payne, UF’s Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources, said at the recent release of a Florida public opinion survey focused on water. “As such,” he said, “IFAS is going to focus a great deal of our research and outreach effort into trying to ensure that our water resources are preserved and protected." The Water Institute’s expanding partnership with UF/IFAS bridges research and extension efforts. Working with the Extension Water Leadership team, the Water Institute facilitated a 2-day summit engaging over seventy county and state faculty, and administrators to kick-off the UF-IFAS Extension Strategic Water Initiative. The participants were encouraged to identify ‘signature’ educational programs that could have statewide impact. The Summit resulted in proposals for innovative programs and the establishment of teams to draft action plans for these programs. For more information on the summit including a full report click here.       EDUCATION Second Water Institute Graduate Fellows (WIGF) cohort to focus on Sea Level Rise     A new cohort of the UF Water Institute Graduate Fellows is coming together. Established in 2010, the WIGF program supports interdisciplinary faculty-graduate fellow teams to conduct integrative research in an emerging area of water science. The winning proposal for the 2013 cohort was submitted by an interdisciplinary faculty team (Drs. Treavor Boyer, Andrea Dutton, Jon Martin, Andrew Ogram, Bill Pine and Arnoldo Valle-Levinson) from five departments in the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Agricultural and Life Sciences. The 2013 WIGF Cohort will focus on impacts of sea level change on coastal aquifers, water resources and ecosystems. Sea level is predicted to rise by up to one meter by the end of the century, with significant consequences for the nearly 1 billion people who live along coasts. Potential candidates visited UF February 21-24 to meet the faculty team and learn more about the program. The new cohort of students will begin their academic programs in the Fall. For more information       Upcoming Events     April 21 -26, 2013 8th International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) Groundwater Quality Conference (GQ13), J. W. Reitz Union, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL     April 23, 2013 Dr. David Rudolph, Professor, Dept. of Earth Sciences, University of Waterloo, Ontario CA and 2013 NGWA Darcy Lecturer "Managing Groundwater beneath the Agricultural Landscape" 3:45 PM - 4:30 PM — Grand Ballroom, J. W. Reitz Union     February 11-12, 2014 UF Water Institute Biennial Symposium, J. W. Reitz Union       For questions or concerns regarding the newsletter, contact the Newsletter Coordinator Copyright © 2013 UF Water Institute, All rights reserved.

 

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