Final RSVP and spotlight on three WaTER Prize jurors

 Water Security and Equity in a Changing Climate

The International WaTER Symposium is online this year - this Tuesday, Sep 21, 7:00 - 8:30pm

Please RSVP here, and you will be forwarded a Zoom link upon registration:

RSVP

INTERNATIONAL WATER SYMPOSIUM 

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 (via ZOOM) 

7:00-7:15 PM    Welcome and opening remarks

7:15-7:55 PM    Short presentations by jurors on water projects and global water issues

7:55-8:20 PM    Question & Answer session with jurors on relevant challenges to water security

8:20-8:28 PM    Announcement of the 2022 International Water Prize winner! 

8:28-8:30 PM    Thank-you and save the date for the next WaTER Conference

SAVE THE DATE

OU International WaTER Conference

September 26-28, 2022 | Norman, OK 

Dr. Ana Barros is a South African-born American civil and environmental engineer currently serving as the Department Head of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois. She is an Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and in 2019 she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for "contributions to understanding and prediction of precipitation dynamics and flood hazards in mountainous terrains". Ana attended the Faculty of Engineering of the University of O’Porto where she obtained a summa cum laude Diploma in Civil Engineering and a M.Sc. degree in Ocean Engineering in 1988 with a thesis focusing on numerical modeling of sediment transport in estuaries and coastal regions. In 1990, Dr. Barros completed and M.Sc. degree in Environmental Science Engineering at the OHSU/OGI School of Science and Engineering. She earned a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Washington, Seattle in 1993. 

Dr. Aondover Tarhule is the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and for Illinois State University. Prior to this recent appointment, Dr. Tarhule served as Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School at Binghamton University, part of the state universities of New York. While at Binghamton, he has facilitated the creation of new degree programs, developed new international partnerships, and implemented several major innovations to data and workflow software. 

A physical geographer, Tarhule’s work on climate impacts on water scarcity and security has been featured in National Geographic and Nature. His scholarly research has appeared in prestigious international journals and book chapters. His efforts as principal investigator (PI) or co-PI have resulted in more than $5 million in grants from such agencies as the National Science Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development, the National Institute of Health, and the United States Geological Survey.

Dr. Upmanu Lall is the Director of the Columbia Water Center and the Alan and Carol Silberstein Professor of Engineering, and the Chair of the Dept. of Earth & Environmental Engineering at Columbia University. He has broad interests in hydrology, climate dynamics, water resource systems analysis, risk management and sustainability. Upmanu’s current research covers 3 major initiatives that are developed through the Columbia Water Center. The Global Water Sustainability Initiative addresses global water scarcity and risk. The Global Flood Initiative is motivated by the need to predict, mitigate and manage floods at a global scale recognizing their climate drivers, and supply chain impacts. America's Water seeks to develop sustainable water management and infrastructure design paradigms for the 21st century recognizing the linkages between urban functioning, food, water, energy and climate. These programmatic initiatives are backed by research on systems level modeling of hydrology, climate, agronomy and economics.

These three jurors will be serving alongside the other two jurors, spotlighted in a previous blog - Merrell-Ann Phare and Callist Tindimugaya. The five panelists are eminently qualified to select the next recipient of the OU International WaTER Prize!

RSVP and schedule for the Water Symposium - September 21, 2021

Water Security and Equity in a Changing Climate

The International WaTER Symposium is online this year - one week away!

Please RSVP here, and you will be forwarded a Zoom link upon registration:

RSVP

Eric Stowe receives the 2017 International Water Prize
from the current OU President Joe Harroz.

A general outline schedule of the event follows:

INTERNATIONAL WATER SYMPOSIUM 

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 (via ZOOM) 

7:00-7:15 PM    Welcome and opening remarks

7:15-7:55 PM    Short presentations by jurors on water projects and global water issues

7:55-8:20 PM    Question & Answer session with jurors on relevant challenges to water security

8:20-8:28 PM    Announcement of the 2022 International Water Prize winner! 

8:28-8:30 PM    Thank-you and save the date for the next WaTER Conference

SAVE THE DATE

OU International WaTER Conference

September 26-28, 2022 | Norman, OK 

RSVP and spotlight on two jurors for the Water Symposium - September 21, 2021

We are only six weeks away from our next Water Symposium in which a group of five distinguished jurors will select the next recipient of the International Water Prize! As part of our preparation, we want to share some information on each of our jurors. We begin with Merrell-Ann Phare and Callist Tindimugaya.

Merrell-Ann Phare is a leading proponent of water equity for indigenous Canadians.

Merrell-Ann is a Canadian lawyer with specialties in water rights and water law; serves on the International Joint Commission (U.S. and Canada – Boundary Waters agreement, 1909) lawyer, writer, strategist, negotiator, and relationship-builder who worked extensively in and with indigenous organizations on environmental, land, water, rights, and governance issues. 

She is the author of the book “Denying the Source: The Crisis of First Nations Water Rights” and co-author of “Ethical Water”. She is a member of Smart Prosperity, the Forum for Leadership on Water and is a recipient of the Clean 50 Award. She is legal counsel and advisor to several First Nation governments and regularly speaks on governance, water, and rights issues. Merrell-Ann is also the co-host of "Porcupine", a smart and entertaining podcast on reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians.

Dr. Tindimugaya has helped manage and address the challenges of transboundary water resources.

Dr. Callist Tindimugaya is a Water Resources Specialist that has been working with the Ministry of Water and Environment in Uganda for over 30 years. Currently, he is the Head of the Department for Water Resources Planning and Regulation with overall responsibility for ensuring sustainable and equitable utilization and protection of water resources of Uganda.  Callist has represented Uganda for over 15 years in international and transboundary water resources programs and initiatives such as the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), Inter Government Authority on Development (IGAD), and UNESCO’s International Hydrological Program. He is also the Regional Coordinator of the Nile Basin Capacity Building network, established for building capacity in Integrated Water Resources Management.

Callist received his doctoral degree from University College London, where he studied the movement and storage of groundwater in Ugandan aquifers.  His research assessed two productive aquifers using environmental tracers and aquifer responses to hydraulic stress.  A better understanding of the relationship between the geomorphology and hydrogeology of deeply weathered environments can help set realistic targets for water security in groundwater-dependent communities

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The seventh OU International WaTER Symposium will be held on Tuesday evening, September 21, 2021, 6:30 - 9:00 pm in the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom of the University of Oklahoma. In the evening's program, which includes a banquet dinner, the five jurors will share some of their own research and experiences in the field through short presentations and a panel discussion on pertinent water issues of our day.

The event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP here.

Dr. Robert Nairn addresses the 2018 Water Symposium and Prize announcement.

International Water Prize Announcement and Symposium

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2021 | 6:30 - 9:00 PM

OKLAHOMA MEMORIAL UNION

International WaTER Symposium to be held September 21, 2021 - Save the Date!

Save the Date! - The seventh OU International WaTER Symposium will be held on Tuesday evening, September 21, 2021, in the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom of the University of Oklahoma. The primary purpose of the Symposium is to select and announce the next winner of the OU International Water Prize.

During the few days prior to the Symposium, a group of five distinguished jurors will each nominate an individual who is making a real difference in the hydrology, water security, and WaSH (water, sanitation and hygiene) sectors, especially for communities in need. After much discussion and some debate, these jurors will complete their deliberations, select a Prize winner, and announce the Prize winner at the Symposium event. In the evening's program, they will also share some of their own research and experiences in the field through short presentations and a panel discussion on pertinent water issues of our day.

Dr. David Sabatini addresses the Prize Banquet
at the 2019 International Water Conference

Martha Gebeyehu, 2019 Prize winner, is seen here
with family and friends on the night of the 2019 banquet

The Prize winner will come to campus next year (2022) for the International Water Conference, where she/he will give the Keynote Address and accept their Prize at the formal Banquet. This Prize is believed to be the first and largest prize dedicated to water supply, water resources, and/or sanitation in emerging regions.

Below is a brief introduction of this year's Prize jurors:

Ana Barros (University of Illinois - Department Head of Civil Engineering)

Ana has interests in hydrology, hydrometeorology and environmental physics with a focus on water-cycle processes in the coupled land-atmosphere-biosphere system, particularly in regions of complex terrain. Dr. Barros has expertise in the critical area of water security and environmental sustainability, with emphasis on the study of water cycle processes taking place in the land-atmosphere-biosphere system. 

Upmana Lall (Columbia University)

Dr. Lall is the Director of the Columbia Water Center and Editor-in-Chief of Water Security journal. He also leads the Global Water Sustainability Initiative which addresses global water scarcity and risk. The Global Flood Initiative is motivated by the need to predict, mitigate and manage floods at a global scale while recognizing climate drivers and supply chain impacts.

Merrell-Ann Phare (Phare Law Corporation, International Joint Commission)

Merrell-Ann is a Canadian lawyer with specialties in water rights and water law. She serves on the International Joint Commission (U.S. and Canada – Boundary Waters agreement, 1909). She is a lawyer, writer, strategist, negotiator and relationship-builder who has worked extensively in and with indigenous organizations on environmental, land, water, rights and governance issues. She has authored or co-authored two books on water ethics and the water rights of First Nations.

Aondover Tarhule (Illinois State University)

Dr. Tarhule has studied the impact of climate change on crop yields in the Niger River basin, the effects of particulate air pollution on public health in Burkina Faso, and the usage of satellite data to improve the water security index for regions in Africa. His work on the impacts of climate change on water scarcity and security has been featured in National Geographic and Nature.

Callist Tindimugaya (Uganda - Ministry of Water and Environment)

Dr. Tindimugaya's career has focused on groundwater protection and management in Africa. He has published articles in journals of hydrogeology which describe the importance of groundwater resources in the threats of urbanization, industrial development, agricultural and mining activities, and poor sanitation practices.

We look forward to welcoming these jurors to our lovely OU campus in the Fall!

More detailed information on ways to participate in the Symposium will be coming later this summer.