Alumnus and Winner of Water’s Most Prestigious Honor Will Keynote Hydrology Days at Colorado State University

A Colorado State University alumnus on Friday was named the 2002 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate, hydrology’s most prestigious international award. The renowned researcher will be at Colorado State April 1-4 to keynote the Hydrology Days conference, an annual assembly of scientists, professionals and students involved in basic and applied research in hydrology and its closely related disciplines.

Venezuelan hydrologist and Princeton University Professor Ignacio Rodríguez-Iturbe, 60, was honored with the Stockholm Prize for his significant contributions to the development of hydrologic science and to the preservation, enhancement and availability of the world’s water resources. He earned his doctorate in hydrology from the Department of Civil Engineering at Colorado State in 1967.

Rodríguez-Iturbe is participating in Colorado State’s annual water conference as the Hydrology Days Award winner, an honor presented each year to an outstanding individual for his or her contributions to the field. This year’s award was given to Rodríguez-Iturbe in recognition of his scientific contributions in the areas of surface hydrology, hydro-climatology, fluvial and river basin geomorphology and eco-hydrology.

"We are fortunate to have such a renowned researcher as this year’s Hydrology Days Award winner," said Sandra Woods, chair of the civil engineering department.

Sponsored by the American Geophysical Union, the yearly Hydrology Days conference began at Colorado State in 1981. The conference provides a forum for outstanding scientists, professionals and students to share ideas, problems, analyses and solutions on all aspects of water.

The focus of this year’s event includes the water cycle and its interactions with land surface and atmospheric, ecosystem, economic and political processes, as well as all aspects of water resources engineering, management and policy.

"Colorado State is known internationally as a leader in hydrology and water resources science," said Jorge A. Ramírez, associate professor and chairman of the Hydrology Days organizing committee. "Our university offers an ideal setting for such a prominent collection of researchers and professionals to discuss hydrology issues and collaboratively move toward solving water-related challenges such as those associated with climate variability, droughts, flooding and the environment, all in the context of ever increasing water demands."

Professor Rodríguez-Iturbe’s scientific contributions have increased scientist’s understanding of hydrologic extremes such as floods and droughts, the organization and evolution of drainage networks, the dynamics of the coupled land surface and atmosphere, and the relationship between hydrologic dynamics and ecosystem structure.

For more information about Hydrology Days, including a conference program and presentation abstracts, visit the Web at http://hydrologydays.colostate.edu.