Virtual lecture series to highlight women advancing river research

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Penn State is co-hosting a new series of virtual lectures to feature the contributions of women to river research. 

The inaugural “Women Advancing River Research” lecture series, set to begin on Feb. 25, features an international lineup of speakers covering a variety of topics related to the study of rivers. The series is hosted in collaboration with the Warner College of Natural Resources at Colorado State University and Wiley Research.

“We are deeply aware of the disproportionally heavy loads associated with child and elder care that women often shoulder, especially during the pandemic,” said Li Li, professor of environmental engineering at Penn State, who noted that despite shouldering significant personal responsibilities, women continue making deep and impactful research contributions. “While COVID-19 has kept us isolated and restricted in-person networking, the virtual environment offers us the chance to feature and celebrate the significant contributions that women across the globe have made to our shared understanding of rivers.”

The lineup of speakers includes:

• Berit Arheimer, associate professor of water and environmental studies, Swedish Meteorological & Hydrological Institute 

• Petra Döll, professor of hydrology, Goethe University Frankfurt 

• Kamini Singha, professor of hydrogeology and associate dean of earth and society programs, Colorado School of Mines 

• Michele Koppes, associate professor and Canada research chair in landscapes of climate change, University of British Columbia 

• Angela Gurnell, professor of physical geography, Queen Mary University of London 

• Audrey Sawyer, associate professor of hydrogeology, Ohio State University 

• Tanya Doody, senior research scientist, Managing Water Ecosystems Group, The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization 

• Paola Passalacqua, associate professor of environmental and water resources engineering, University of Texas at Austin 

• Elowyn Yager, professor and director of the Center for Ecohydraulics Research, University of Idaho 

• Nicole Gasparini, associate professor of earth and environmental sciences, Tulane University 

• Iris Moeller, professor of geography, Trinity College Dublin 

• Anne Mather, professor of geomorphology, University of Plymouth

The lecture series is free and open to the public. Registration is required prior to each event. For more information, including dates and times, visit http://bit.ly/3jZnuE7.