Capstone Seminars

Synthesis Summer Institute Capstone Events

The Synthesis Summer Institute Capstone Events conclude an intensive, interdisciplinary summer research experience for graduate students. With a symposium format, these events provide great opportunities for participants to engage with a diverse team of scientists and advance hydrologic synthesis.

Nominations to receive travel stipends for symposium participation are being accepted. Preference will be given to early career individuals (post-docs and faculty). Selected individuals should be prepared to participate in discussions around the seminar topics as well as present their own related work. To apply for one of these events, please submit a paragraph to the listed contact. The paragraph should highlight what expertise and interest the nominee will contribute to the event as well as how participation will enhance the individual's career.

A history of human-water interactions in the Northeast United States: Dynamics in a water-rich environment

[tentative agenda]

When: July 26-27, 2009
Where: West Point, New York
Venue: The Thayer Hotel at West Point

Goals:

  1. Show the changing human-water interactions in the Northeast.
  2. Discuss any systematic changes of those interactions that have occurred over history.
  3. Highlight the diversity of data types and analytical tools needed to quantify past human-water interactions.

Description: Water is a critical factor to human dynamics in arid environments and thus the relationship between water and human systems in these regions has been well-studied as a limitation to economic and social development. Water issues in the arid West are front-and-center in the popular media. Human-water interactions in the more humid environments of the Nation, however, have not received such attention. What then is the role of water in societies in our more humid environments? Although water is not considered as critical of a factor in humid regions, water has played a vital role in how human systems have developed historically. Human activities, in turn, have impacted hydrologic form and function. Understanding the historical relationships between water and humans and how these relationships have changed over time is important as we forecast socio-political and economic dynamics in the Northeast.

Over the past 2 years, research guided by the CUAHSI hydrologic synthesis project hosted at CUNY has studied how human-water relationships have changed in the Northeast U.S. over the 300 years from 1600 to 1900. This seminar is an opportunity for the CUNY project to present new ideas that have arisen from this effort and to continue building a dialog with the broader academic community on human-water interactions in humid environments. The seminar will be a forum to share ideas and discuss future research needs to better understand the changing role of water in the Northeast.

Send application to: Mark Green at mgreen1@ccny.cuny.edu by May 31, 2009

For more information on Humans Transforming the Hydrologic Cycle, please visit hydrosynthesis.ccny.cuny.edu/Home.html.

Advancing predictability of water cycle dynamics at the catchment scale

When: August 3-5, 2009
Where: Vancouver, British Columbia

Jointly hosted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of British Columbia

Goals: This seminar will engage the community in the research results of two exciting themes:

  1. scaling behavior of nutrient export and sediment transport and
  2. interannual variability of runoff and vegetation water use efficiency.

Description: Recent research by the CUAHSI hydrologic synthesis project hosted by the University of Illinois has focused on improving fundamental understanding and predictability of water cycle dynamics in a changing Earth environment. The student activities in this seminar are designed to improve fundamental understanding and predictability of water cycle dynamics in a changing Earth environment. Research topics include interdisciplinary modeling and data analysis efforts in scaling behavior of nutrient export and sediment transport as well as interannual variability of runoff and vegetation water use efficiency. .

Send application to: Jennifer Wilson at jswilson@illinois.edu by May 31, 2009

For more information on hydrologic synthesis, please visit cwaces.geog.uiuc.edu/synthesis/index.html.