Local, national and global environmental and public health protection is a key societal concern and one that is intrinsically linked to clean water. Our current research in the nexus of water and ecological and human health strives to limit the damage to the natural environment and ecosystem, and potentially avoid exposure of humans and natural systems to hazards.
Overview
CEE faculty and student research in water and human/ecological health addresses key needs in ecohydrological resilience, ecosystem services, socio-hydrological interaction, and interactions with disease (e.g., malaria, whirling disease).
Research Highlights
Using Big Data approaches to assess ecohydrological resilience across scales
Land-cover transformation, amplification of biogeochemical flows, and climate disruption are triggering transitions in the Earth system that are unprecedented on human timescales. To ensure biosphere integrity and continued human flourishing, we need to understand the factors that determine ecosystem resilience to these diverse disturbances. This project brings together researchers from across the country in a Critical Zone Collaborative Network, combining data science, ecology, hydrology, and biogeochemistry. Students, researchers, and outreach partners will work in dynamic teams to create new knowledge through field and lab work, and improve education, policy, and participation in STEM fields. CEE researchers are developing and applying complex systems tools to study patterns in watershed data that will be used to inform understanding of ecohydrological resilience. This project is supported by the National Science Foundation.
CEE Faculty: Kristen Underwood, Donna Rizzo, Scott Hamshaw
UVM Collaborators: Julia Perdrial, Regina Toolin, Leon Walls, Michael Blouin, Byung Lee
Collaborating Institutions and Organizations: CUAHSI, U.S. Geological Survey, University of Nevada - Reno, Penn State, University of Kansas, University of Arizona, Desert Research Institute
Leading Water Research
Run by Dr. Appala Raju Badireddy, the Water Treatment and Environmental Nanotechnology (WTEN) Laboratory conducts research in four broad interdisciplinary areas: Sustainable Membrane Processes, Environmental Nanotechnology, Environmental Chemodynamics, and Water Security and Soil Health.
Dr. Badireddy's researchResearch Topics
- Ecohydrological resilience
- Ecosystem services
- Socio-hydrological systems
- Ecological habitat
- Climate change response
- Interactions with disease
Graduate Study in Water and Human/Ecological Health
Highlighted courses are listed below:
- CEE 5550 – Physical/Chemical Processes of Water/Wastewater Treatment
- CEE 5560 – Biological Processes of Water/Wastewater Treatment
- CEE 7980 – Geostatistics
- CEE 6990 – Environmental Chemical Dynamics
- CEE 6990 – Wastewater Epidemiology
Faculty Researchers
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
abomblie@uvm.eduEnvironmental Engineering, Hydrology.
Acting Chair and Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
drizzo@uvm.eduDevelopment of new computational tools, including artificial neural networks, to improve the understanding of human induced changes on natural systems and the way we make decisions about natural resources.
Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
raju.badireddy@uvm.eduWater Quality Engineering, Membrane Separation Processes, Resource Recovery from Solid- and Liquid-Waste, Environmental Photochemistry
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Elizabeth.Doran@uvm.eduUrban climate; land use and land cover change;
social-ecological systems; systems modeling