March 17, 2023

UArizona experts available for World Water Day

TUCSON, Ariz. — University of Arizona water experts are available to speak in advance of World Water Day on March 22.

World Water Day is organized by the United Nations and coincides with the U.N. Water Conference, which runs from March 22-24 in New York City. The theme of this year's World Water Day is "accelerating change," and focuses on a U.N. goal to achieve access to water and sanitation for all by 2030.

UArizona was ranked No. 2 in the U.S. and No. 6 globally in water resources in ShanghaiRanking's 2022 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, released in July. U.S. News & World Report in October ranked the university No. 2 in the U.S. and No. 21 globally in water resources.

The following UArizona experts are available to speak about water.

Andrea Achilli is an associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering. Achilli's research focuses are membrane processes for desalination, and water reuse and energy recovery from water and wastewater. He also studies process integration, modeling, and optimization and biological processes for water and wastewater treatments.
520-621-6586
achilli@arizona.edu

Laura Condon, an associate professor in the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, studies large-scale water sustainability. The Condon Hydrology Lab's research focuses on connections between groundwater depth, soil moisture and streamflow. She leads efforts to develop national modeling platforms for better watershed prediction.
lecondon@arizona.edu

Ty Ferré, University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, works to improve models that support groundwater decision-making. He also develops methods that use decision science to formulate groundwater models, and then uses those models to select and interpret measurements. 
520-621-2952
tyferre@arizona.edu

Andrea Gerlak is director of the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy. Her research examines the causes of – and innovative solutions to – some of our world's most pressing environmental challenges. She studies how to design institutions to promote adaptive, flexible policies to improve human and ecosystem well-being and produce fair and equitable decisions. She also studies how communities come together to collectively govern groundwater to sustainably manage shared resources.
520-626-4393
agerlak@ arizona.edu

Robert Glennon, Regents Professor in the James E. Rogers College of Law, is best known for his work in water law and policy. He advocates for a variety of reforms, including using price signals to stimulate water conservation, and market forces to bring about a reallocation of water.
520-621-1614
glennon@law.arizona.edu

Bo Guo, an assistant professor in the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, studies how emerging contaminants like PFAS move through soil and groundwater and uses that knowledge to develop predictive computer models for improving field-scale cleanup strategies.
520-626-9971
boguo@arizona.edu 

Hoshin Gupta is a Regents Professor of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences whose research largely involves modeling and data analysis to predict conditions such as rainfall runoff, flooding and other hydrologic processes. Gupta is also an expert at using prediction modeling to support decision-making and policy analysis.
520-626-9712
hoshin@arizona.edu

Kathy Jacobs, director of the Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions, has expertise in water policy, the use of climate information for water management, climate change adaptation and drought planning, particularly related to the Colorado River. Jacobs was a groundwater manager for the state of Arizona for 23 years and was director of the Tucson Active Management Area for 15 years. She helped design conservation, recharge and assured water supply rules for Arizona. More recently, she has focused on climate-related impacts to groundwater and surface water.
520-405-7395
jacobsk@arizona.edu
Please note: Jacobs is only available through March 21, most easily via email.

Vicky Karanikola is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering. The Karanikola Optimized Research for Environmental Sustainability Laboratory focuses on advance water and wastewater treatment processes with particular interest on material and process optimization at the water-energy nexus. More particularly, Karanikola specializes in water purification research, in the context of Indigenous nations and in selective water decontamination from chemicals known as PFAS. 
520-621-5881
vkaranik@arizona.edu

Raina Maier, a professor of environmental science and director of the UArizona Superfund Research Center, studies microbial ecology of stressed environments, such as mine tailings and desert soils. Related to water, she studies how microbially produced surfactants, or soaps, can be used to recover critical metals from water resources including groundwater. 
520-621-7231
rmaier@ag.arizona.edu

Sharon B. Megdal is director of the UArizona Water Resources Research Center, a Distinguished University Outreach Professor, the C.W. & Modene Neely Endowed Professor and a specialist in the Department of Environmental Science. Megdal is a renowned water policy expert whose research includes analysis of water management, policy and governance in water-scarce regions; groundwater recharge; and transboundary aquifer assessment.
520-241-0298
smegdal@arizona.edu
Please note: Megdal is unavailable March 20 and 21.

Channah Rock is an extension specialist with UArizona Cooperative Extension and a professor in the Department of Environmental Science. Rock's research focuses on water quality, food safety, and water recycling. More specifically, she focuses on the use of cultural and molecular pathogen detection in the environment and the impact of industry practices on human health risk. 
520-374-6258
channah@cals.arizona.edu

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Media contact:
Kyle Mittan
University Communications
520-626-4407
mittank@arizona.edu

The University of Arizona, a land-grant university with two independently accredited medical schools, is one of the nation's top 50 public universities, according to U.S. News & World Report. Established in 1885, the university is widely recognized as a student-centric university and has been designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. The university ranked in the top 20 in 2021 in research expenditures among all public universities, according to the National Science Foundation, and is a leading Research 1 institution with $770 million in annual research expenditures. The university advances the frontiers of interdisciplinary scholarship and entrepreneurial partnerships as a member of the Association of American Universities, the 66 leading public and private research universities in the U.S. It benefits the state with an estimated economic impact of $4.1 billion annually. For the latest on the University of Arizona response to the novel coronavirus, visit the university's COVID-19 webpage.

The University of Arizona Land Acknowledgement