Lab Notes

“Hydrology is to hydraulics what astrology is to astronomy.”

FORMER IIHR DIRECTOR JOHN FISHER KENNEDY DEMONSTRaTING HIS LEGENDaRY DRY HUMOR, aS QUOTED bY HIS COLLEaGUE RaFaEL bRaS, GEORGIa TECH

“You’re not a hydraulic engineer until you lose your first pair of shoes.”

aNDY CaRTER, NOaa OFFICE OF WaTER PREDICTION, SPEaKING aT aN IOWa FLOOD CENTER MEETING

“That, my friends, is more habitat!”

LaRRY WEbER, COMMENTING aFTER a TREE FELL INTO HIS POND DURING a VIDEO INTERVIEW ON HIS PROPERTY

“At -10° F, aging stops.”

WITOLD KRaJEWSKI, COMMENTING ON UNEXPECTED bENEFITS OF SUbZERO WINTER WEaTHER IN IOWa

“If we don’t measure, how can we manage?”

a MINNESOTa FaRMER, TaLKING abOUT THE NEED TO QUaNTIFY NITRaTE aND PHOSPHORUS IN FaRM FIELD RUNOFF

“Without a doubt, Iowa is getting wetter.”

aNTONIO aRENaS, SPEaKING aT aN IOWa FLOOD CENTER MEETING

“If you enjoy what you’re doing, you don’t work a day in your life.”

IIHR DIRECTOR GabRIELE VILLaRINI

IIHR Centennial, Take Two

We’re happy to announce that IIHR’s Centennial Celebration has been rescheduled for August 2022. We hope you’ll join us for the festivities! Events get underway on Wednesday evening, August 10, with an alumni gathering at a brew pub in Iowa City. Thursday and Friday, August 11-12, will feature tours of IIHR facilities and a poster session highlighting student research. Thursday evening we’ll gather at Hancher Auditorium for IIHR’s birthday party, an afterdinner event with champagne and fireworks!

In December, the University of Iowa’s Hancher Auditorium and IIHR announced The Big Splash! has been canceled due to the pandemic and other circumstances beyond our control. We sincerely regret any inconvenience or disappointment this may cause.

We are looking forward to seeing you in August. Watch for updates and stay safe!

Welcome, President Wilson!

IIHR was proud to host new University of Iowa President Barbara J. Wilson in July during her first full week on the job! After meeting with the media to answer questions, she spoke with IIHR Director Gabriele Villarini and Iowa Flood Center co-founders Witold Krajewski and Larry Weber to learn more about the institute. Welcome to Iowa, President Wilson!

Photo by Justin Torner, Staff Photographer, University of Iowa

Krajewski Elected to the National Academy of Engineering

“The environment at the University of Iowa nurtures independent thought and creative ideas. This is a special place.”

WITOLD F. KRaJEWSKI

University of Iowa Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Iowa Flood Center Director Witold F. Krajewski has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest honors conferred in the field of engineering. This honor recognizes Krajewski’s innovative research and leadership in flood prediction and mitigation, which have transformed Iowa into a more floodresilient state that serves as a model for others nationwide. “Election to NAE is a well-deserved recognition of Witold’s groundbreaking flood research and dedicated outreach to communities across Iowa,” said Harriet Nembhard, dean of the University of Iowa College of Engineering.

Krajewski has served as director of the IFC since its establishment by the Iowa Legislature in 2009. The center pioneered the development of the Iowa Flood Information System (IFIS), a Google Maps–based online tool that communicates real-time information about stream levels, flood alerts and forecasts, and hydrologic conditions for the entire state. To date, it has been accessed by over 3.5 million users. Under Krajewski’s leadership, IFC’s technical expertise has helped bring more than $100 million of external funding to Iowa to address flooding and water resource concerns at the watershed scale.

“The environment at the University of Iowa nurtures independent thought and creative ideas. This is a special place,” said Krajewski. “Membership into NAE is an honor and a responsibility.”

Krajewski holds the Rose and Joseph Summers Chair in Water Resources Engineering and is a faculty research engineer at IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering. He is one of the world’s most respected experts in rainfall monitoring and forecasting using radar and satellite remote-sensing. His research has resulted in more than 250 journal publications and has enriched the education of the dozens of UI graduate students with whom he has worked and collaborated.

Communicating accurate, scientific information about floods to all Iowans is one of Krajewski’s priorities, with the goal of protecting lives and enhancing Iowa’s economic vitality and quality of life.

Here for the Long Haul

From the earliest days of the hydraulics lab, staff have played an essential role in the work of IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering. Here, staff are full-fledged team members, many with decades of experience and specialized knowledge. Their work allows researchers to concentrate on their science. And at IIHR, staff earn respect and appreciation for their contributions.

We asked a few of the IIHR employees with the longest tenure here to tell us why they’ve stayed so long.

Teresa Gaffey has worked at IIHR for 27 years. As director of finance and business operations, she makes sure that IIHR’s grants and contracts are managed properly. When she was a young parent, Gaffey says she especially valued the flexibility in her schedule that allowed her to take care of her family.

“My supervisors cared not only about me professionally,” she says, “but also personally.”

Gaffey says she also appreciates the opportunity to support IIHR’s researchers in their work. “It means a lot to me to know I can be helpful as they try to understand and improve the world around us.”

Before he retired in 2020, Mark Wilson had worked at IIHR for 32 years. When he left, he was the director of research computing. “IIHR is a great place to work,” he says. “We are involved in solving many deeply important societal problems and generating appropriate, respectful options for the future. It is very satisfying to tell people of the work that goes on at IIHR and how impactful it is.”

He’s especially proud of the role IIHR played in initiating high-performance computing at the University of Iowa. “That is the kind of creative, innovative action that comes from a culture like that within IIHR,” Wilson says.

Research Computing Manager Brian Miller has worked at IIHR for 22 years as full-time staff, plus another three years as a student employee. Why has he stayed so long? “I actually enjoy my job,” Miller says. At IIHR, he says, he’s been given the freedom to make decisions. “It’s helped me grow as a person,” he says. Laura Myers, administrative services specialist, is marking her 20th year at IIHR in 2022. She stayed because of “the sense of family IIHR has, as well as knowing that ultimately the work we do here is for the benefit of humanity.”

All four agree that IIHR is a wonderful place to work. “Absolutely!” Gaffey says. “I do not underestimate how lucky I was to be asked to be a part of this team and I work very hard to keep us moving in the right direction.”

“I actually enjoy my job. It’s helped me grow as a person.”

RESEaRCH COMPUTING MaNaGER bRIaN MILLER (BELOW, RIGHT WITH GABRIELE VILLARINI, DIRECTOR, IIHR—HYDROSCIENCE AND ENGINEERING)

Fall Colors at Ledges State Park

A gray day sets off the stillvibrant foliage of late fall at one of Iowa’s most popular state parks.

Learn more about Ledges in the latest issue of The IGS Geode https://issuu.com/uiowaengineering/docs/igs_geode_2021

Photo by IIHR photographer Aneta Goska