Water Management and Conservation Research Unit

USDA-ARS U.S. Arid-Land Agricultural Research Center

Research Hydraulic Engineer

Education:

PhD, Agricultural Engineering, Univ. of California, Davis, 1992

MS, Agricultural Engineering, Univ. of California, Davis, 1984

BS, Agronomy-Plant Science, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), Campus Querétaro, México, 1979

Research Interests:

My research focuses on various aspects of irrigation and water management, both at the farm and project level. At the farm level, my interests are mostly in surface irrigation systems. I have worked in the development of hydraulic models and computational procedures that can be used to simulate, analyze, and design surface irrigation systems. I am also interested in infiltration issues, as they pertain to surface irrigation design and management, including parameter estimation, characterization of spatial and temporal variability, and sensitivity of surface irrigation design and management to uncertain infiltration properties. I am also interested in the development of computer-based control of large open-channel water delivery systems. In this regard, I have particularly focused on feedforward control aspects, i.e., pre-scheduling operations to meet known a known schedule of water demands, but have also worked on feedback control. I am interested in irrigation performance assessment, policies and their impact on irrigation management, and on collaborative, multi-disciplinary approaches to improving the management or irrigation projects.

Research Projects:

Water Management in Arid Irrigated Agriculture

Evaluation of Arizona's Interim Best Management Practice Program for Water Conservation