Purdue Ground Water Experts
Purdue Ground Water Experts
Is researching the feasibility of developing "smart" chemical regulations to protect ground water that would allow for variable application rates depending on a variety of factors, including soil type, weather models, pesticide types, tillage and other farming practices. Also researches soil and water engineering with emphasis in water quality, drainage and erosion control.
Research interests are in hydrologic modeling, geographic information systems, nonpoint source pollution and whole farm planning. Extension responsibilities include soil and water engineering as well as helping Cooperative Extension Service county educators and other local decision-makers to use geographic information systems and water quality assessment tools in land use planning. Spent three years in Zaire and five years in Senegal working on small-scale irrigation and other projects with women's cooperatives.
Focuses on environmental and agricultural policy, including the interaction of agricultural production and natural resources. Has edited two books in the area of natural resource policy, "Conserving Soil" published by the Soil and Water Conservation Society and "Agriculture and Water Quality" published by Lynne Rienner Publishers. Has served as referee for more than a dozen journals from several scientific disciplines. Has served as senior policy analyst at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and as coordinator of Purdue's Center for Alternative Agricultural Systems. Is associate director of the Natural Resources and Environmental Science program and associate research editor for the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. Has received an Award of Merit from the Soil and Water Conservation Society.
Is vice president of the national association of pesticide regulators. (Pesticide contamination is a major concern regarding ground water quality.) Chairman of the Indiana Ground Water Task Force subcommittee on agricultural chemicals. Past president of the Association of Structural Pest Control Regulatory Officials. Is member of National Subcommittee on Bulk Pesticide Repackaging. Is secretary for Indiana Pesticide Review Board.
Of note are recent efforts to isolate microorganisms that are capable of degrading xenobiotics, a class of herbicides. (Pesticide contamination is a major concern regarding ground water quality.) Studies how the application of chemicals may affect the microbial ecology of soils. Particularly interested in the following pesticides: imazaquin, carbofuran, Atrazine, propachlor, fluemetsulam, metalaxyl, picloram triadimefon and vinclozolin. Recent efforts have concentrated in two emerging areas: (1) turfgrass microbial ecology and (2) microbial ecology following the introduction of drainage tiles.
Expert in septic systems, water quality (including ground water quality) and environmental issues. Has expertise in rural land use planning, farmland valuation and water-quality issues in rural areas.
Research involves applying the technique of accelerator mass spectrometry to geosciences, biology and materials science, including using it to date rocks, ground water and ice cores. Works to develop automation of isotope ratio measurements, ion sources, and new detector systems. Also studies long-lived radionuclides in natural samples, such as meteorites, ground water, ocean sediment and surface rocks.
Is past president of the Indiana Water Resources Association and the author of more than 60 articles on ground water supply and contamination, landfills and geologic disposal of wastes, such as radioactive materials. Is a former hydrologist for U.S. Geological Survey in radioactive waste disposal and former geologist and hydrologist for South Dakota State Geological Survey in ground-water supply studies. Served as a consultant to numerous state and federal agencies and has investigated landfills and ground water for contamination.
Has expertise in the area of contaminant flow in water and ground water. Wrote book "Groundwater and Seepage: The Theoretical Basis and Design of Dams." Has worked extensively with Army Corps of Engineers and has served as consultant to identify and correct problems on dams and locks.
Expertise in the physics of fluids in porous media on scales ranging from angstroms to miles, ground water contamination, statistical mechanics, thin films, swelling colloids, and applied mathematics. Is former director of Indiana Water Resources Center. Served on U.S. Secretary of Energy's Health and Environmental Research Advisory Committee (1985-88) and Subcommittee on Ecology (1985-1986). Editor-in-chief of international journal Stochastic Hydrology and Hydraulics. On editorial boards for the journals Water Resources Research and Transport in Porous Media.
Research is directed toward the impact of land development on local hydrology. Has developed a new technique for land use planners to use in estimating the long-term effect of new development projects on ground water supplies.
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