Honors and awards Illinois State Water Survey staff have received.

Highest Professional Recognition by the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers (AAWRE)
May, 2007

Dr. Mike Demissie, Head of the Center for Watershed Science and Allen Wehrmann, Head of the Center for Groundwater Science, were elected as Diplomate, Water Resources Engineer (D.WRE) of the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers (AAWRE) of the American Society of Civil Engineers on May 17 at the 2007 Water Congress in Tampa, Florida. This is the highest professional recognition by the AAWRE for water resources professionals.

Faculty Fellow of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications
May, 2006

Yu-Feng Lin was selected as a Faculty Fellow of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Lin’s research is on "The Development of Point-to-Zone Pattern Learning (P2Z) for Groundwater Recharge." The Faculty Fellows program is funded by NCSA and the Office of the Vice Chancelor for Research.

Team Award for Excellence
January, 2006

The University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES) honored eleven scientists, academic professionals, and professors from the University of Illinois and affiliated agencies, including Dr. Carl Bernacchi at the Illinois State Water Survey, with The Team Award for Excellence for their involvement at the SoyFACE Research Facility. This award recognizes faculty members and academic professionals who, working together as a team, have made a significant contribution in teaching, research, or extension. The award will be presented at the ACES Awards Banquet in April, 2006.

Frank Bellrose Illinois River Valley Conservation Award
October, 2005

The Nature Conservancy honored Dr. Nani Bhowmik and Dr. Mike Demissie by naming them recipients of The Frank Bellrose Illinois River Valley Conservation Award for their contributions to the restoration efforts in the Illinois River Basin. The award was presented at the Illinois River Coordinating Council (IRCC) meeting held in Peoria, IL, on October 14th. The meeting was held in conjunction with the 10th Biennial Governor's Conference on the Management of the Illinois River.

Highest Professional Recognition by the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers (AAWRE)
August, 2005

Dr. Nani Bhowmik from the Center for Watershed Science was elected as a Diplomate, Water Resources Engineer (D.WRE) of the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers (AAWRE) of the American Society of Civil Engineers on May 16 at the 2005 Water Congress in Anchorage, Alaska. This is the highest professional recognition by the AAWRE for water resources professionals.

Faculty Fellow of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications
May, 2005

Momcilo Markus was selected as a Faculty Fellow of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Markus’ research is on "Data fusion, data mining, pattern recognition and regional classification of the water quality data in the midwestern United States." In addition to financial support, Faculty Fellows have access to NCSA's high-performance computers, visualization and virtual reality environments, data analysis software, and other advanced information technology tools, as well as opportunities to collaborate with NCSA staff. The Faculty Fellows program is funded by NCSA and the Office of the Vice Chancelor for Research.

Fellow of the American Meteorological Society
April, 2005

Kenneth Kunkel was recently elected as a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society. Dr. Kunkel was Head of the Center for Atmospheric Sciences of the Water Survey until 2008. He had been with the Water Survey since 1988, engaged in a range of basic and applied climate research and services. He holds a Ph.D. in meteorology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and held previous positions at the U.S. Army Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory at White Sands Missile Range and at New Mexico State University. The honor of Fellow is given to an individual for recognition of outstanding contributions to the atmospheric or related oceanic or hydrologic sciences, or their applications, during a substantial period of years. Only two-tenths of one percent of membership are approved as Fellow each year.

Fulbright Scholar Program in South Africa
April, 2005

Walt Kelly has been selected for the 2005-2006 Fulbright Scholar Program in South Africa. Founded in 1947, the Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship academic exchange effort, sending 800 U.S. faculty and professionals abroad each year. Starting in January 2006, Dr. Kelly will spend 6 months doing collaborative research and teaching at two universities, the University of Fort Hare and Western Cape University. The primary research focus will be on microbial quality of groundwater in rural regions of South Africa.

2004 "Editor's Award" for Outstanding Service
October, 2004

Momcilo Markus has received the 2004 "Editor's Award" for outstanding service to the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Journal of Environmental Engineering. As one of a small group of reviewers consistently rated as excellent in evaluating manuscripts submitted for publication in that journal in 2003-2004, he deserves special recognition.

Faculty Fellow of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications
May, 2003

Douglas Walker was selected as a Faculty Fellow of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Walker’s research is on "High-Throughput Computing for the Analysis of Fractured Aquifers." The Faculty Fellows program is funded by NCSA and the Office of the Vice Chancelor for Research.

Faculty Fellow of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications
May, 2000

Xin-Zhong Liang was selected as a Faculty Fellow of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Liang’s research is on "Supercomputing Optimization of a Regional Climate Model for US Midwest Applications." The Faculty Fellows program is funded by NCSA and the Office of the Vice Chancelor for Research.