Melinda Laituri - Ecosystems and Geospatial Technology

The WaTER Center is proud to welcome Dr. Melinda Laituri to serve on the selection committee to choose the 2019 University of Oklahoma International Water Prize winner.  As part of the WaTER Symposium to be held October 10, Melinda will also be part of a panel discussion on "Critical Water and Sanitation Issues in Today's World".

Dr. Melinda Laituri

Dr. Laituri is a professor in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability at Colorado State University. She holds a PhD in geography from the University of Arizona, with her other degrees in hydrology (MA, California State University, 1985) and geography (BA, University of California, Berkeley, 1979). 

Melinda’s research has spanned several geographic locales, beginning with her dissertation in the American southwest and along the US-Mexico border that focused on environmental equity and groundwater resources.  Since then, she has worked with indigenous peoples around the world on issues related to managing water and natural resources, using geographic information systems (GIS) while utilizing cultural and eco-physical data in her research models.  A key focus involves using GIS to aid those locally affected in developing the information and strategies necessary for sustainability and self-management.

Social and environmental justice is a key focus in much of Dr. Laituri's research.

Other research interests have focused on the role of the Internet and geospatial technologies as they pertain to disaster management and cross-cultural environmental histories of managing river basins. “Water, ecosystems, and sustainability are inextricably linked across multiple scales.  I am keenly interested in the intersections and boundaries of human activities, physical processes, and ecosystems.” All Melinda’s work relates to solving water issues, social and environmental justice, and tracking the global policy initiatives with respect to this. She enjoys teaching, considering it one of the greatest privileges and challenges of being a professor.  “We are truly seeing the influence of geography in everyday life! This is an exciting place to be at this juncture in addressing and solving complex environmental issues.”

 

A Fulbright Scholar, a Rachel Carson Fellow, and a Jefferson Science Fellow, Melinda is the currently director of the Geospatial Centroid at CSU.  A former National Science Foundation program officer in the Geography and Spatial Sciences program, she now works with the Office of the Geographer and Global Issues at the US Department of State on the Secondary Cities Initiative, and is affiliated with the Colorado Water Institute and the Center for Disaster and Risk Analysis.

David Kreamer - Educator, Author, Environmentalist, and Visionary

The WaTER Center is so very happy to welcome Dr. David Kreamer as a member of the selection jury to choose the 2019 University of Oklahoma International Water Prize recipient.  Dr. Kreamer is a Professor of Hydrology in the Department of Geoscience at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He currently serves as Vice President for the International Association of Hydrogeologists for Science and Program. Dave has served as a Director for the National Ground Water Association (NGWA), and a Board member and President for the Universities Council on Water Resources (UCOWR). 

Dr. David Kreamer

Dave’s love for hiking and paddling on the Colorado River near the Grand Canyon National Park, during the early years of his career, has led him to create partnerships with government and private groups who are now offering cooperation and support for his research on groundwater exploitation. His research includes topics such as environmental contamination, spring vulnerability and sustainability, and clean water and energy supply in developing nations. 

Dr. Kreamer has been an oarsman on the Colorado River, through the Grand Canyon, since the early 1980's.

Dave's research involves many water related topics around the world, particularly in developing countries.

He has authored over 65 professional publications and currently is co-author of the recently released 3^rd edition of textbook “Contaminant Hydrogeology” from Waveland Press.  He has given more than 150 invited lectures, seminars, and workshops in recent years for groups such as the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and more than 50 universities. Dr. Kreamer has given presentations and short courses for over half of the states and commonwealths in the United States, and also in Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, Australia and the Pacific island nations, South America, Africa and the Middle East.

Professor Kreamer appeared as an expert witness for U.S. Congressional hearings on groundwater polution.

Dr. Kreamer shares his professional expertise in lectures, seminars, workshops, and courses around the globe.

Dave appeared as a professional consultant and expert witness in legal proceedings for the U.S. Congress concerning his expertise on groundwater pollution challenges. He served as an external peer reviewer for numerous groups and projects involving risk assessment and remediation methodologies. In 1997, he was awarded the Joseph Malone Fellowship. Dr. Kreamer’s future goals include efforts to bring a focus on new perspectives in global groundwater science and challenges, with debates that lead to recommended, coordinated efforts and effective, quality action.