Texas: a history of flooding is compounded by development and warming impacts

The holiday and the type of hazard have changed, but once again fast-growing Texas is seeing outsize (and tragic) impacts from extreme weather events. On Labor Day weekend in 2011, the disaster was heat- and drought-fueled fires that whipped through the exurbs east of Austin, most of which didn’t exist just a few decades earlier. Now, Houston is flooded and Hays County, west of Austin, is still in search and rescue mode after Memorial Day weekend ...

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27
MAY
2015

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Climate Change, Global Change, News, Water

Tony Timpano is investigating the impacts of coal mining on Appalachian streams

Tony Timpano is an IGC student and a Ph.D. candidate in Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation. His field research is centered in the Appalachian “coal country” of southwestern Virginia and southern West Virginia.

Tony is interested in understanding how coal mining affects stream water quality and aquatic life. Ultimately, he hopes that his research findings will help guide policies on monitoring and managing salt pollution in streams.

“I want to improve the science of water quality management to enhance the capability of regulators to ...

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30
APR
2015

1

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Global Change, Interfaces of Global Change IGEP, Pollution, Research, Student Spotlight, Video, Water

New undergraduate water degree is approved by SCHEV

From VT News

Virginia Tech’s new undergraduate degree in water, approved by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia in early December, is one of the most innovative, interdisciplinary offerings in the country and will position graduates for a wide spectrum of careers in private industry, federal and state agencies, and nongovernmental organizations.

“The timing of this new program could not be better, nor more urgent,” said Brian Richter, director of global freshwater ...

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23
JAN
2015

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Accolades, New Courses, News, Water

Amy Pruden receives the 2014 Busch Award

Amy Pruden, professor of civil and environmental engineering and associate dean and director of interdisciplinary graduate education in the Graduate School at Virginia Tech, is the 2014 recipient of the Paul L. Busch Award which includes a $100,000 research grant.

A well-recognized researcher in her field, Pruden is instrumental in developing a new way of thinking about controlling aquatic pathogens and expanding the use of recycled ...

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9
OCT
2014

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Accolades, October 2014 Newsletter, Research, Water

Ben Grumbles: Water’s 3 Biggest Threats

Ben Grumbles, U.S. Water Alliance

Tuesday, April 29, 2014 (2:00-3:00 p.m.)

Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) Auditorium

Ben Grumbles is President of the U.S. Water Alliance–a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to uniting people and policy for “one water” sustainability. Possessing one of the broadest and most diverse memberships in the country, the Alliance has public and private sector leaders focusing on quality and quantity water issues both above and below the surface. The Alliance also focuses on the connections of energy, land, food and ...