1st Annual CI-WATER Symposium Proceedings

Managing Water in an Uncertain Future:
Harnessing New Computational Power

Symposium Materials | Schedule | Presenters | Participant Feedback
The first Annual CI-WATER Symposium was held September 5-6, 2012
at the Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City.

Thomas Parks
Vice President for Research, Professor of Neurobiology & Anatomy, Executive Director, Brain Institute, University of Utah
Thomas' main research interest is in developmental neurobiology, particularly of the auditory system. His previous work focused on 1) the cellular and molecular features responsible for the highly specialized functions of brainstem auditory neurons, and 2) the effects of early hearing loss on the brain. His current research interest is in the neurobiology and genetics of auditory processing disorders in humans.

Sarah George
Executive Director, Natural History Museum of Utah
Sarah joined the Natural History Museum of Utah in 1992. Drawing upon her vast experience as a scientist and with museums, she has guided the efforts of the staff and board through times of significant challenges, growth and change. Under her leadership, the NHMU’s operating budget has grown from $900,000 to $5 million, and she secured funding for the sustainably designed Rio Tinto Center through grants, gifts, a voter-approved bond, and legislative appropriations. George also serves as an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Utah.

Rita Teutonico
State Director, Utah EPSCoR
Rita is the Director of Research Development for the Office of Research and Graduate Studies at Utah State University.  She plays an instrumental role in USU’s recently awarded NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement (Track I) project and will assume the role of Associate Director once the program begins in Fall of 2012.  She was also recently appointed as the State EPSCoR Director for Utah. Before joining USU, she was Senior Science Advisor for Integrative Activities at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences, Office of the Assistant Director. 

Fred Ogden
Cline Distinguished Chair of Engineering, Environmental & Natural Resources, University of Wyoming
Fred is the University of Wyoming's Cline Distinguished Chair of Engineering, Environment and Natural Resources. He helped develop the physics-based watershed model used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was a Principal Investigator on the Panama Canal Watershed Experiment through the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. He holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University and is a Principle Investigator for CI-WATER.

Brad Udall
Director CU-NOAA Western Water Assessment
Brad is director of Western Water Assessment, one of seven RISA (Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments) programs funded by the Office of Global Programs at NOAA. These programs are designed to develop partnerships with regional stakeholders and tailor NOAA data products to meet their needs. Lessons learned here are also contributing to NOAA's emerging "National Climate Service," the climate analog to the existing National Weather Service.

Dennis Strong
P.E. Director, Utah Division of Water Resources
A Utah native, Dennis has worked for the Utah Division of Water Resources since 1975, serving as a Water Resources engineer before becoming Director in 2006. In addition to overseeing planning, conservation, development and protection of Utah’s water resources, he is Utah’s Interstate Streams Commissioner and serves on both the Bear River and Upper Colorado River Commissions. He is also a member of the Western States Water Council and Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum, and is the Governor’s representative on Colorado River issues.

Sue Lowry
Interstate Stream Administrator Wyoming State Engineer’s Office
Since 1988, Sue has worked on interstate water compacts and decrees for the Wyoming State Engineers Office, focusing on the Bear, Yellowstone, Snake and Belle Fourche River Basins. Since 2003, she has served as Administrator of the Interstate Streams Division. She holds a B.S. in Agricultural Economics and an M.S. in Range Management and Water Resources from the University of Wyoming.

Nathan Eugene (Gene) Shawcroft
Assistant General Manager, Central Utah Water Conservancy District
Gene joined the Central Utah Water Conservancy District in 1991, where his responsibilities include hydropower development, finance, human resources, records, conservation and endangered species recovery programs. He has also coordinated the planning, design, and construction of capital projects such as the Jordanelle Hydropower Project. A register Professional Engineer with an M.S. in Civil Engineering, Gene planned, designed and managed construction of water development projects for the Utah Division of Water Resources before working with the District.

Chris Nicholson
Director of the Water and Climate Data for the State of Wyoming
Chris Nicholson is the Director of the Water Resources Data System (WRDS) and Wyoming State Climate Office in the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering at the University of Wyoming. His department works in conjunction with the Wyoming Water Development Office in their River Basin Planning division. He holds a M.A. in Archaeology from Washington State University and his research interests include using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in water and climate resources.

Jeff Niermeyer
Director, Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities
A registered Professional Engineer, Jeff has more than 33 years’ experience in water resources management. He has been a drainage engineer, contracts administrator, treatment and environmental administrator, and consulting engineer. As Director of the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities, he is responsible for budget development, program monitoring, water rights, water supply and all contractual matters, and he oversees implementation of programs to meet the City’s obligations under the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act.

Norm Jones
Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Brigham Young University
Norm is a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Brigham Young University. He is the director of the Environmental Modeling Research Laboratory, which developed the Groundwater Modeling System (GMS), a water modeling software used worldwide. An educator as well as a scientist, he has taught more than 100 seminars and workshops nationally and internationally. He is a Principle Investigator for the CI- WATER project.

Steven Corbató
Cyberinfrastructure Facilities, University of Utah
Steven is the Executive Director of Cyberinfrastructure at the University of Utah and has held leadership positions in national organizations such as the Advisory Council for the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN). He oversaw networking activities and technology initiatives for Internet2 and established Manhattan Landing, an advanced Internet exchange point for international research and education. He is a Principal Investigator for CI-WATER and heads the project’s Cyberinfrastructure Facilities team.

David Tarboton
Access to Data and Computationally Intensive Modeling, Utah State University
David is a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Utah State University (USU) where he also coordinates the USU Water Initiative. He holds an M.S. and Sc.D. in Civil Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; his research area is surface water hydrology with a focus on improving hydrologic prediction with models that use new information and technology. He is a Principal Investigator for the CI-WATER project.

Laura Hunter
STEM Learning and Water Science Engagement, University Of Utah
Laura is Utah Education Network’s Chief Content Officer and Station Manager for the public media station UEN-TV. She leads educational technology projects for the state, including the award-winning website uen.org. Dr. Hunter serves on industry boards such as the National Education Telecommunications Association and public media Affinity Group Coalition. She holds a Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning and leads CI-WATER’s STEM Learning and Water Science Engagement team.

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