September 26, 2007

By Jeanne Griffith

Susan Riha, Cornell University’s Charles L. Pack Professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, has been appointed director of the New York State Water Resources Institute (WRI) effective September 30. She succeeds Keith Porter, a senior extension associate in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and adjunct professor of water law at Cornell, who has directed WRI since 1986.

“Susan Riha’s appointment reflects our strong and continuing commitment to supporting WRI and continuing to increase its effectiveness in building productive linkages between academic scientists and water resource managers,” said Susan A. Henry, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “I am grateful to Keith Porter for his two decades of knowledgeable and effective leadership of the WRI and delighted that Susan has agreed to take on this role.”

Riha

“I am very pleased to be offered this opportunity to help establish new connections between Cornell University researchers and the wider community concerned with water resources management, and particularly to address the impacts of climate variability and climate change on New York state water resources and management,” said Riha. “At the same time, I will work with Dean Henry’s administration to develop a long-term strategy for enhancing funding support for WRI. I look forward to the continued support of these efforts from the Cornell community and water resources stakeholders throughout the state and region.”

The WRI has fostered and supported multi-disciplinary research and outreach involving the watersheds for New York City and the Susquehanna and Hudson Rivers, among others. Through the work of WRI, Cornell faculty have accumulated a substantial body of knowledge that applies to all major aspects of watershed management, including farm management practices, flood and drought management, water conservation and wastewater reuse, community and highway stormwater and drainage management, wetland protection, construction of wetlands, protection of stream corridors and forestry management practices.

Riha served the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences as director of sponsored research from 2004 to 2006. From 1999 to 2004 she co-chaired the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Her areas of expertise include plant-environment modeling, environmental biophysics, climate change, drought stress, forest soils, and land-use change. She is a fellow of the Agronomy Society of America.

The 55-member national network of Water Resources Research Institutes was established by federal law in 1964. In 1986, the New York State legislature established the WRI under state law as the New York State Water Resources Institute at Cornell University. At Cornell, it serves as a universitywide institute to address problems of water resources through research, education and outreach. Correspondence and inquiries regarding WRI programs should be directed to Susan Riha at nyswri@cornell.edu.

Related Links

• New York Water Resources Institute