The campus community enjoys a warm spring day at the UW-Madison Memorial Union Terrace. Photo: Bryce Richter.
The two primary foci of the water resources engineering & science group are hydrology and environmental/ecological fluid mechanics with particular strengths in water sustainability; computational fluid mechanics; flow, mixing and thermal structure of lakes; stochastic hydrology; groundwater hydrology; engineering hydraulics; stream and wetland restoration; stormwater management; and hydroecology. The group investigates applied and theoretical problems in both the built and natural environments. Field methods, laboratory experiments, remote-sensing techniques, numerical modeling, statistical modeling, and analytic approaches are combined to address scientific and engineering questions leading to better water resource management, a better interface between the built and natural environments, and more sustainable use of water resources.
Current research projects
Changing soil characteristics of Tuolumne Meadows:
Increased vulnerability and implications for meadow restoration
Principal Investigator: Steve Loheide
Sponsor: National Park Service (Yosemite National Park)
05/01/2011-04/30/2014
Innovative approaches to treating stormwater
Principal Investigators: Steve Loheide, Joy Zedler, Anita Thompson
Sponsor: Environmental Protection Agency, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
08/30/10-05/31/12
WSC Cat-2: Climate change, shifting land use, and urbanization in a midwestern agricultural landscape: challenges for water quality and quantity
Principal Investigators: Chris Kucharik, Steve Loheide, Adena Rissman, Steve Carpenter, Monica Turner
Sponsor: National Science Foundation, Water Sustainability & Climate Program
04/1/2011-03/31/2016
CAREER: Improving the science and practice of restoration with hydroecologic observatories
Principal Investigator: Steve Loheide
Sponsor: National Science Foundation, Environmental Sustainability & Hydrologic Sciences Program
01/15/2010-01/14/2015
Adapting the Design and Management of Storm Water-Related Infrastructure
Principal Investigator: Ken Potter
Sponsor: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
5/1/2009-7/31/2012
Determining and Mitigating the Effects of Climate Change
on Stormwater Hydrology and Management for Great Lakes Coastal Communities
Principal Investigator: Ken Potter
Funding Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
6/30/2010-1/31/2012
Use of Highly Treated Wastewater for Groundwater Recharge
Principal Investigator: Ken Potter
Sponsor: Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District
12/6/2010-6/30/2012
Collaborative Research:
New knowledge from the global lake ecological observatory network
Principal Investigator: Chin Wu and Paul Hanson
10/01/09-12/13/14
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Characterization of the water environment at the Apostle Islands, Lake Superior
Principal Investigator: Chin Wu
2/1/11 – 1/31/13
Sponsor: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, UW-Sea Grant
Physical and biological processes associated with resuspension of contaminated sediments in the Sheboygan river estuary
Principal Investigator: Chin Wu
2/1/10 – 1/31/13
Sponsor: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, UW-Sea Grant
Response of ice cover, lake level and thermal structure to climate change in Wisconsin lakes
Principal Investigator: Chin Wu
03/01/11 – 2/28/13
Sponsor: Wisconsin Water Resources Institute
Development of an integrated nowcasting and forecasting operational system for Yahara Waters (INFOS-Yahara Waters)
Principal Investigator: Chin Wu
19/01/09-12/31/13
Sponsor: City of Madison and Dane County, Wisconsin, NSF
Great Lakes Consortium for Ocean and Human Health (OHH) Training
Principal Investigator: Chin Wu and Trina McMahon
09/01/10-08/31/13
Sponsor: NOAA-Ocean and Human Health:
Application and Demonstration of Floating Bog Interceptors (FBIs) for Cherokee Marsh Restoration
Principal Investigator: Chin Wu
01/01/12-12/31/14
Sponsor: Dane County, Wisconsin
Outreach and Education at Meyers Beach using RTWOS for Assisting Kayak Safety in Sea Caves, Apostle Islands (Phase III)
Principal Investigator: Chin Wu and Gene Clark
7/01/12-06/30/13
Sponsor: Wisconsin Coastal Management Program, Friends of Apostle Island National Lakeshore
Yahara Clean Water Intiatives
Principal Investigator: Chin Wu
01/01/12-12/31/14
Sponsor: Dane County, Wisconsin
INFOS for WINgra Best Management Plan (WIN-BMP)
Principal Investigator: Chin Wu
1/01/12-12/31/14
Sponsor: City of Madison
Understanding and Forecasting Meteotsunami in Great Lakes
Principal Investigator: Chin Wu, Paul Roebber, Eric Anderson, David Schwab
Sponsors: UW-Madison/UW-Milwaukee Intercampus Research Incentrive Grants Program, Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research (CILER), NSF
Development of Regional Integrated Bluff Management (IBM) for Coastal Planning in Lake Michigan
Principal Investigator: Chin Wu
7/1/12-6/30/13
Sponsor: Wisconsin Coastal Management Program, Ozaukee Planning and Parks Department, City of Port Washington Department of Planning and Development
Development of an Innovative In Situ Imaging-based Diagnostic System (IDS) to Quantify Interfacial Gas Exchange in Aquatic Wetlands
Principal Investigator: Qiao Liao and Chin Wu
7/1/12-6/30/13
Sponsor: UW-Madison/UW-Milwaukee Intercampus Research Incentrive Grants Program
