Extension and outreach programs play a critical role in addressing on-the-ground water resource issues at a range of scales, local to national. It is estimated that about a quarter of UCOWR’s membership holds responsibilities related to outreach education, and that number is growing. Click on the UCOWR Extension Flyer to learn more about connecting with UCOWR’s network of water extension and engagement professionals.
News
USGS National Water Availability Assessment webinar
Webinar: USGS National Water Availability Assessment
Date: Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Time: 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST
Location: Microsoft Teams Webinar
Join the USGS Water Resources Mission Area for a briefing on the National Water Availability Assessment, a pioneering scientific overview of water availability across the conterminous United States.
This new assessment is the first of its kind, offering new insights on where there is a potential imbalance between water supply and demand in the United States. The assessment uses state-of-the-art models to fill in gaps between monitoring sites and sampling events and integrates information on water quantity, quality and use for a more comprehensive understanding of water availability. The findings of the National Water Availability Assessment can be explored by reading the report, retrieving data from the user-friendly National Water Availability Assessment Data Companion, and touring the supplemental data visualization website.
During this virtual event, attendees will learn about the key findings of the Assessment and how to access the data, hear stories of USGS water availability science across the country, and have the opportunity to ask questions of the team behind this effort.
Direct link for registration: https://events.gcc.teams.microsoft.com/event/596e6c86-cc0f-4c9c-bd24-1b9a582bcb02@0693b5ba-4b18-4d7b-9341-f32f400a5494
Texas A&M AgriLife Research Assistant Professor in Sustainable Urban Water
The Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Texas Water Research Institute (TWRI) are seeking a highly motivated and visionary Assistant Professor in Sustainable Urban Water Management. The appointment is a 12-month based position with 75% research and 25% extension. The candidate is expected to lead at the forefront of innovation and technology, particularly in the realm of plant-water relationships, the use of alternative water resources for irrigation, the implementation of climate-based irrigation technologies, the development of blue-green infrastructure, and active engagement in citizen science initiatives.
This position has the potential to integrate with existing programs at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Dallas, especially in turfgrass and urban landscape, ecological engineering, and controlled environment horticulture (CEH) programs as well as complement water research programs at other research and extension centers and departments. Furthermore, this role at the Dallas Center has the potential to emerge as a central hub for tackling urban water challenges in five major Texas metropolitan areas – Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Austin. Given that two-thirds of Texas’ population resides in these areas, maintaining a robust research and extension program under effective leadership while stressing the importance of active stakeholder and community engagement will be crucial for long-term sustainable urban water management in the state of Texas.
Applications due 4/18/2025.
Minnesota Water Resources Director
Minnesota is accepting applications for the Minnesota Water Resources Director. The director will provide strong intellectual leadership and guidance for the WRC, and will work to advance the Center’s research, extension, and education to the very forefront of Water Resource Centers worldwide, while maintaining a strong emphasis on water issues of importance to Minnesota. The director will be expected to work closely with non-profit and for-profit sectors, government, and other educational organizations, in shaping and fostering the outreach programs of the Center. This will include leading teams that translate scientific findings to application and practice, and articulate water science and policy findings in public forums as well as to industry and individuals. It is expected that the director will form an external advisory committee and will be responsible for developing comprehensive five-year strategic plans for the WRC.
The successful candidate must have the ability to provide innovative leadership and vision, management skills and insight, and adeptly manage relationships across a wide spectrum of institutions and intellectual disciplines. Fostering an organizational and educational climate that promotes and celebrates interdisciplinary excellence is an important priority; thus, the candidate must have experience leading interdisciplinary research projects and facilitating collaboration across a wide range of disciplines, including the natural and social sciences, engineering, and policy. It is important that the candidate has a record of successful fundraising, including major research grants.
Ecohydrology of Grassland Systems Professor at Kansas State University
The Division of Biology at Kansas State University is inviting applications for a tenure-track, nine-month position as the Assistant/Associate Professor level. This position will focus broadly on ecohydrology of grassland systems. Potential areas of expertise could include riparian ecosystem function, linking groundwater to climate change mediated by biota, watershed ecosystems, or hydrology and biogeochemistry.
To learn more about the position and application requirements, please visit the position posting online.
Colorado State University is seeking six new faculty members who use artificial intelligence (AI) as a key component of their research
The Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering at Colorado State University announces a college-wide search for six new faculty members who use artificial intelligence (AI) as a key component of their research programs and who aspire to develop innovative AI educational programs. We welcome candidates who develop foundations of AI in an engineering context, generate data for their AI models, or otherwise apply AI to solve engineering challenges. Each new faculty member will have their academic home in one or two of the departments within the College.
We seek faculty members who apply AI to advance our areas of unique research expertise. These are elaborated below for each department and include prediction of climate and intense weather events using data from satellites and radars; novel approaches to synthetic biology and high-throughput biological synthesis; use of satellite data for water resource management; development of models and sensors for improving infrastructure resilience; unique high-power, ultra-short pulse laser systems for fusion and other applications; and cyber-physical systems. Click here for more information.
