Kajol Basnet, Mashood Ur Rahman, Julianne Quinn, Samarth Singh, and Aashutosh Aryal (pictured left to right) all presented research at AGU in New Orleans, LA the week of Dec 15-19.
Kajol presented a poster on creating a generalized hydrological error model that can be extrapolated to ungauged locations so that uncertainty is fully captured in coupled hydrological and hydrodynamic models, ensuring extreme flood probabilities aren’t underestimated.
Mashood presented a poster on his work assessing the economic and environmental value to the Eastern Interconnection of developing pumped storage hydropower in Appalachian Virginia.
Julie gave both a poster and oral presentation. Her poster illustrated how seasonal climate forecasts can be used to inform integrated supply and demand-side drought management through reservoir operations and fallowing payments, respectively, to increase the value of water use in the Colorado River Basin. Her oral presentation was on this published paper led by Samarth Singh on advancing hydropower system modeling by integrating water and energy systems models to inform improved reservoir operations, using the Columbia River Basin as a case study.
Samarth presented a poster on an extension of the above work, exploring what enables reservoir operating rules to be robust to changing climate conditions and energy mixes.
Finally, Aashutosh presented a poster on how integrating information on stormwater infrastructure into a deep learning emulator of TRITON-SWMM improves performance and reveals the role of said infrastructure on flood extremes.

Prof. Quinn poses with fourth year Systems Engineering students (L to R) Noah Simsic, Petey von Ahn, Simrat Saini, Lachlan Murphy and Justin Zheng after they presented their capstone project at the Systems Information and Engineering Design Symposium (SIEDS). The team designed alternative green infrastructure layouts for the Meadow Creek watershed in Charlottesville, VA, building off prior work from Civil Engineering PhD alum Seth Herbst. Their work furthered Seth’s analysis by considering different climate change projections to recommend robust solutions for balancing flood reduction, construction and maintenance costs, and co-benefits. Congrats to the whole team. Next up, graduation!

Daniel Lassiter was recognized with the UVA Distinguished Teaching Award in STEM, an award given to one STEM nominee across the University each year. In his time at UVA, Daniel has served as a TA for Civil Techniques, Water Resources Engineering, and Environmental Systems Modeling and Management. Across all these courses, Daniel has sought to make students feel safe, supported and confident in their ability to learn the material. His efforts were greatly appreciated by students and professors alike. All three course professors requested Daniel as a TA, while students commented on his ability to support their learning, meet them where they were at, and “help them grow from there, … shift[ing] his teaching technique depending on how each student best learned.” Congratulations Daniel on this well-earned award!

Julianne Quinn, Daniel Lassiter, Mashood Ur Rahman, and Kajol Basnet (pictured left to right at an Ethiopian restaurant) all presented research at AGU in Washington, D.C. the week of Dec 9-13. Daniel gave an oral presentation on the benefits of an ensemble-based approach to flood probability mapping that he developed for urban coastal systems experiencing compound flooding from storm surge and rainfall drivers. Mashood presented a poster on his work assessing the economic and environmental benefits of transitioning energy in Appalachian Virginia to renewable energy from wind in conjunction with pumped storage hydropower. Kajol also presented a poster on her proposed approach to integrating fluvial, pluvial and sediment drivers into flood frequency analysis in Bihar, India, and her progress so far in modeling fluvial influences. Finally, Julie gave an oral presentation on behalf of Samarth Singh, who couldn’t make it, on designing alternative hydropower operations for balancing conflicting energy, economic, and water system objectives in the Columbia River Basin, and how those rules could support decarbonization under climate change.

Fourth year Systems Engineering students (L to R) Fritz Van Winkle, Luke Mathe, Conor Murphy, Abby Dawley, and Charlotte Browder presented their capstone project at the Systems Information and Engineering Design Symposium (SIEDS). The team analyzed the potential for renewable energy development in Western Virginia, selecting two prime spots for wind and solar development in Floyd and Carroll Counties, sizing alternative projects in these locations, and analyzing their economic costs and benefits.