The Mississippi River Basin is massive – it covers 40% of the contiguous U.S. and approximately two thirds of that area is farmland. Flooding and water quality are persistent issues across the basin, and experts predict they will only worsen with climate change and increasing intensity of agricultural production.

The two winning papers each represent outstanding research and dedication to environmental engineering and the impact of their research on the environment. While their subject matter differed drastically, the researchers both had a focus on water quality, and the dangers of contaminants in the home.

Fred Stern, the George D. Ashton Professor of Hydroscience and Engineering and a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Iowa, has received a $1.35M award from the United States Department of Defense, Office of Naval Research to develop a digital process for ship design, evaluation, and certification.

Eight hundred new farm ponds, wetlands, reconnected flood plains, and water and sediment control basins were added to the state’s landscape over the past 5 years. It’s part of a $97 million initiative from the University of Iowa.

Larry Weber discusses the Iowa Watershed Approach in this radio interview.

Congratulations are in order for IIHR’s Calvin Kielas-Jensen, a PhD candidate in mechanical engineering as he was awarded the Department of Defense Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation Scholarship (SMART) Scholarship for his work in autonomous mobile robots.

The University of Iowa will be a key contributor to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s $360 million consortium to improve the United States’ ability to predict water-related hazards and better manage its water.

The federal government has chosen the University of Iowa to be part of a $360 million national consortium to improve flood prediction and water quality tracking across the country.

Iowa will receive $21 million during the next five years as a partner in the Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology (CIROH), funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The national center will be led by the Alabama Water Institute at the University of Alabama.

Researchers found that nearly 450,000 acres of cropland are located in areas with a 50% chance of flooding in a given year. They also found a staggering average of $230 million in crop losses per year due to farming that takes place in flood-prone areas.