Shirmohammadi Lectures in Korea, Chile

Fischell Department of Bioengineering Professor Adel Shirmohammadi recently presented two invited talks on water quality and pollution control at international conferences in Chile and Korea.

The first lecture, titled "Uncertainty Consideration in Watershed Scale Models," was presented at the 21st Century Watershed Technology: Improving Water Quality and Environment conference, held in Concepcion, Chile, in March 2008. The conference was sponsored by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) and the University of Concepcion. The lecture discussed the increasing use of watershed scale and water quality models to devise pollution control strategies. The models and simulations, however, may have high degrees of uncertainty that can limit their usefulness. Using a study of a watershed in northern Maryland as an example, Shirmohammadi described his use of two uncertainty methods to compensate for variability in input parameter values.

The second lecture, titled "Nonpoint Source Pollution: Problems, Challenges, and Opportunities", was presented at the International Conference on NPS Monitoring and Control Measures for Reservoir Water Quality Improvement, held in Seoul, Korea, in May 2008. The conference was organized by the Korean Nonpoint Source Pollution Forum, a nonprofit academic organization. The lecture described the growing global concern about the deterioration of water bodies, the associated economic and health impacts resulting from it, and the efforts to identify the pathways of pollution. Shirmohammadi provided an overview of the damage and demonstrated how certain modeling and monitoring strategies can help identify and quantify nonpoint sources of pollution, particularly from agriculture.

Published May 19, 2008