Corn dominates U.S. farmland and fuels the ethanol industry. But the fertilizer it relies on drives emissions and fouls drinking water.

Nitrate concentrations, exacerbated by a wet spring that followed years of dry conditions, reached near record highs in Iowa rivers this summer. Concentrations are typically elevated in the summer. The past several years, nitrates have dropped to near-zero concentrations in late summer through early winter. But this year, concentrations in rivers and in central Iowa’s drinking water have remained high.

Since joining IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering in 2013, Felipe Quintero quickly became a key contributor advancing research and education in support of the Iowa Flood Center (IFC).

The Technology Association of Iowa recently hosted the Iowa Data Center Summit, which was meant in part to ask how Iowa can balance demand for data centers and environmental responsibility.