2008-01-24_AgendaPacket - Laserfiche WebLink

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UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA Water Resources Center ~ ;~ ,~. 1'lll-'I ~~ x~, ~~iv~o J~~ o ~ ~ W ~ r' '~ , ~_ _ ' ~~ ~_, ~ ~~. `' ~ ~~ Water Resources Conference 2007 Over 600 water ,F'. Ott ~~ ~° resources managers, educators, students, ~`~; and professionals ~ ~ from across the region gathered at the Earle .t Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center on October 23 and 24 for the Minnesota Water - ~- Resources Confer- ence. Participants were offered two plenary sessions and two luncheon presentations. T11ey also had the option of attending four concurrent sessions comprising 66 different water-.related issues and visiting ~3 poster displays, of which several con- tributions from University of Minnesota faculty and students are highlighted here. The conference was sponsored by the Water Resources Center and the College of Continuing Education and cospon- sored by the Department of Civil Engi- neering, the Minnesota Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Minnesota Sea Grant College Program, and the Natural Resources Research Institute. Day one of the conference included the presentation of the Dave Ford Water Resources Award to University professor Patrick Brezonik (Civil Engineering). This award recognized Dr. Brezonik, former director of the WRC, for his lifetime achievements in the further- ance of water resources research and education. State Representative Dennis Oz- ment R (37B) was awarded an offi- cial Letter of Appreciation from the Water Resources Conference Planning Committee based on his chief authorship of the recent Clean Water Legacy legisla- tion. He was nominated for this recogni- tion by Steve I<loiber of the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services. The first plenary session, "The Colors of a River: Pollution in the Upper Mis- sissippi," by Dr. John Anfinson of the National Park Service, started with an evocative account of the history of the Mississippi River, beginning with records from the 1840s. Overall, he delineated how the changes it has endured since the onset of logging and the subsequent locks Conference continued on page 3 2 Director's Desk 4 Sociallndicators 5 NRRI Ballast Testing 6 Community News 8 Upcoming Events Minnegram by Patrick Nunnally The Mississippi River is, by all ac- counts, one of the world's great rivers. It bisects the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus and passes within a mile or so of the St. Paul campus. As the University seeks to become a world leader among public universities, it is appropri- ate that it pay renewed attention to the river at its doorstep. The Riverlife Program seeks to do just that by strengthening connections between the University, the Mississippi River, and the communities through which the river passes. The program is a collaborative effort of the following units at the University: 1 • Water Resources Center • Institute on the Environment • Institute for Advanced Study • College of Design • Urban Studies Program Many of the program's projects are undertaken in collaboration with organi- zations in the Twin Cities, and with the local office of the National Park Service. The Riverlife Program works in three broad areas: it contributes to projects largely internal to the University that further academic and operational goals and priorities; it provides technical and planning assistance in collaborations with Riverlife continued on page 4 December 2007 Patrick Brezonik received the Dave Ford Award. Left to right: Steve Klaiber, Larry Baker, Patrick Brezonik and Conference Co-Chair Jim Anderson.