EWRI Honors Four 2011 Visiting International Fellows at 10th Anniversary of Program Four Visiting International Fellows were honored during a reception at the May 2011 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress in Palm Springs, California. This year marked the 10th anniversary of the Visiting International Fellows program, which provides an opportunity for persons from developing countries to pursue technical and cultural exchange in the United States. In recognition of the 10-year anniversary, EWRI provided support for four Fellows rather than the more typical three. Each Fellow gave a technical presentation at the conference and participated in a panel discussion on water and environmental issues in their countries. In addition, each Fellow participated in professional and cultural activities outside of the conference. ASCE/EWRI member hosts for each of the Fellows helped to arrange these activities for the Fellows. Dr. M.L. Kansal, Professor, Department of Water Resources Development and Management, Indian Institute of Technology in Roorkee, India, was one recipient of the fellowship. During the EWRI Congress, Dr. Kansal gave a presentation entitled “Expert System Based Water Sustainability Index” at the EWRI Congress and participated in several EWRI committee meetings. After the EWRI Congress, Dr. Kansal visited Austin, Texas, and Bethlehem and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In Texas, Dr. Kansal visited his host’s family, visited area attractions including the State Capital, visited Mansfield Dam and discussed key issues involved in its operation and management, and visited CH2M Hill. In Pennsylvania, Dr. Kansal visited Lehigh University and discussed projects being conducted there. Dr. Kansal was hosted by Dr. Aditya Tyagi, Senior Principal Technologist at CH2M Hill in Austin, Texas. The second fellow, Ms. Chen Zang, Assistant Professor at Inner Mongolia University of Technology, People’s Republic of China, presented information on the quantifying the relationship between hydrology alteration and degradation of a typical steppe in Inner Mongolia. Upon her return to China, Ms. Chen Zang gave a presentation about the conference to students majoring in hydrology in the Inner Mongolia Agricultural University. Ms. Chen Zang was hosted by Dr. Xixi Wang, Assistant Professor and Coordinator, Hydrology and Watershed Engineering, at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. The third fellow, Pradeep Kumar, is a Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in Roorkee, India. He gave a presentation entitled “Pre-Treatment of Polluted River Water by Riverbank Filtration for Water Supply” at the EWRI Congress. Following the congress, Professor Kumar visited numerous U.S. cities and held discussions with faculty at Tarleton State University. Professor Kumar’s host is submitting a proposal to the National Science Foundation and there is the possibility of including him as a collaborator in that proposed project. Professor Kumar was hosted by Professor Chittranjan Ray, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manao. Dr. Bijay Panigrahi supported Professor Kumar as host during the Congress in the absence of Professor Ray. The fourth fellow, Mr. Cayo Ramos, is a Professor at the National Agrarian University in Lima, Peru. During the EWRI Congress, Mr. Ramos gave a presentation on the impacts of climate change on the hydrology and irrigated agriculture n the Rio Santa Basin in Peru. Outside the EWRI Congress, Mr. Ramos participated in a pre-Congress course on the CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System, visited the Eastbay Municipal Utility District near San Francisco, and engaged in information exchange and a tour at the University of Berkeley. Mr. Ramos was hosted by Dr. Walter Grayman of W.M. Grayman Consulting Engineer in Cincinnati, Ohio. The International Council of EWRI established the Visiting International Fellowship program in 2001 to promote cultural and technical exchange between EWRI members and international colleagues from developing countries. Applications are accepted annually during the late summer and early fall for the EWRI Congress occurring the following May. Fellows present at the conference, participate in a panel discussion, and are recognized by EWRI in the conference program and at the event. Fellowships include a one-year membership in EWRI and/or the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), registration fees for the conference, and a portion of travel expenses (not all travel expenses) through funds provided by EWRI’s Governing Board.

EXPERIENCE REPORT ON TRIP TO

PALM SPRINGS

Report by Chen Zang, VIF,

Assistant Professor,

Inner Mongolia University of Technology,

Hohhot, China

October, 2011

It's my honor to be selected as one of the Visiting International Fellows

(VIF) for the World Environmental & Water Resources Conference 2011, which

was held on May 22-26 in Palm Springs, California, USA. As the VIF, I

participated in the conference and got the chance to feel the cultural and

economy differences between the USA and China.

May 21: Arrived

I arrived Palm Sping in the evening of May 21. The beautiful night scene

and the greetings from strangers impressed me deeply.

Fig.1 The Evening of Palm Springs

May 22: The First Sight of Palm Springs in the Sun

Fig.2 The Hotel I Stayed

I like the hotel I stayed very much, because it's not far from the convention

center and it's easy for me to find the necessary things that I need.

The whole day was spent for knowing the city and adapting my short life

in America. The differences made me interesting and surprising and the

differences appeared anywhere and anytime.

Fig.3 The Nearby Shop

Fig.4 The Scene of Palm Springs

May 23: A Rich And Full Day

After the registration, my host Xixi Wang and I attended the opening

ceremony of the conference in the morning. At the opening ceremony, we met a

lot of professors and experts and I learned a lot from the talking.

Fig.5 At The Opening Ceremony

In the afternoon, I gave a presentation on the situation and challenges

about water resource in China at the Visiting International panel discussion. The

moderator was Elizabeth Bourget. She is a nice woman and gave me many

helps, especially when I couldn't understand others because of the different

accents.

Fig.6 At The Panel Discussion

In the night, the

International council provided

the hosts and VIFs a dinner.

They provided us a good

chance for communication.

Although the people with

different languages and

customs came from different

countries, they tried to

understand each other and the

life in each country. It is indeed

marvellous.

Fig.7 Elizabeth and I

Fig.8 The Dinner with hosts and VIFs

May 24: Poster And Grant Award

On May 24, I made a poster at

the conference, which is mainly about

the relationship between the

degradation of steppe and hydrology

in Inner Mongolia, China. And I

received a lot of constructive

suggestions from the experts at the

conference.

Fig.9 The Poster

At the same time, the award of

Visiting International fellow was

granted to me. Thanks for the

working of my host Xixi Wang and

the selection of EWRI.

Fig. 10 The Ceremony of

Granting Award

May 25: Shopping and Relaxing

*Note: The method of checking out in Super Market

in America is very different from in China.

Fig11. Walmart and Tramway

Ending: Work in China

After I came back to Hohhot, China, Xixi Wang and I gave a presentation

about this conference to the students that major in hydrology in Inner Mongolia

Agricultural University on 14th June, and the effect is obviously. Most students

wanted to know more about the conference and America, they also expected the

chance to experience all of this themselves.

And we, the group of researching went to the experiment area in

September to get the data of this year for the continual research .

Fig12. Continual Experiment and Research

Acknowledge

No matter the award of VIF or my trip to America, Xixi Wang gave me lots

of helps and encouragement. He is really a good friend and mentor. Thanks for

everything he did for me.

Thanks everyone who gave me helps for this trip to America.

World Environmental & Water Resources Congress 2011 

A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT 

ON 

VISIT OF  

VISITING INTERNATIONAL FELLOW 

 

Palm Springs, California  

May 22‐26, 2011 

 

MITTHAN LAL KANSAL 

PROFESSOR, 

DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT & MANAGEMENT, 

 

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ROORKEE 

ROORKEE 247 667 (INDIA) 

Visiting International Fellowship (VIF) award is 10 years young award but is one of the most

repected award among the profesionals in the area of Enviornment and Water Resources. This

award gives opportunity to the researchers from developing countries to interact with experts in

US and explore US for its strength in strong professionalism as well as unity and diversity of

culture. By receiving this award in 2011 at Palm Springs, I feel honoured and got recognition in

the area of Enviornmnetal and Water Resources Engineering. I appreciate and owe this award

due to the entiring efforts of my old friend Dr. Aditya Tyagi, Principal Technocrat, CH2MHILL,

Austin, who has always been a source of inspiration to me. Dr. Aditya Tyagi not only acted my

host but also inspired me to do quality research work as well he introduced me to various

technical committees of EWRI and experts in area of Environment and Water Resources

Engineering.

I came to know about this fellowship when I attended EWRI congress during May 17-21 2009 at

Marriot downtown Kansas city, Missouri, USA in 2009. During that conference, my friend

Dr. Arun Goel received this award, who was hosted by Dr. Aditya Tyagi.

Thereafter, I developed special interest in EWRI activities when Dr. Udai P Singh, the then

President of EWRI encouraged me to carry out activities in area of Environment and Water

Resources Engineering at Roorkee. I suggested that we can open up North India EWRI Chapter

of ASCE with headquarters at IIT Roorkee as it is hub of various technical activities in India.

During the last one and a half years, I have been working for establishing this Chapter. It is

matter of great satisfaction when Dr. Udai P Singh, President EWRI, formally announced the

opening of this chapter during his visit to IIT Roorkee. VIF-2011, gave me opportunity to

discuss various issues related to functioning of North India EWRI Chapter, and it is hoped that

the professionals in the North India will get benefited with the functioning of this chapter and

EWRI will show its presence in that part of the world.

VIF-2011 gave me an opportunity to meet some of the stalwarts in the area of Enviornmnetal and

Water Resources Engineering. It was a pleasant opportunity to meet some of my old and present

colleagues, as well some of my old students to whom I taught at Delhi College of Engineering

(DCE), Delhi and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee who are doing well in USA.

I am grateful to every one especially members of VIF task committee members, who supported

my candidature and found me worthy for this fellowship. I am also thankful to staff of EWRI,

specially Mr. Brian Parson, Director and his team members, and Dr. Udai P Singh, past

president, EWRI for sorting out various issues related to North India Chapter of EWRI. It is

only because of this fellowship, I could visit various places in USA and meet my old friends,

their family members, my old students and my own relatives. My thanks are due to my host,

Dr. Aditya Tyagi, who not only took keen interest but also provided all logistic and technical

support during my visit. My special thanks are due to family members of Dr. Aditya Tyagi, who

kept me like a family member in their house for more than five days and showed me various

places in Austin. It was a great time after more than 20 years when we sit together and went

down to memory lane.

I am optimistic about the changes which this VIF will bring in my profession and hope that it

will provide me a booster dose for carrying out profesional activities with more enthusiasam in

the times to come.

I have taken up following specific activities during and after the conference as stated below:

Monday, May 23, 2011 Monday was also the day of official and unofficial

meetings. I attended and participated in various meetings as mentioned below :

At 8:00 AM, I attended the VIF Committee Meeting. In the Noon, I attended the meeting with EWRI officials and discussed at length the various issues related to North India EWRI Chapter.

From 1:30 to 3:00 PM, attended the VIF panel meeting. From 3:30 to 5:00 PM I attended the VIF Program –

Reflecting on last 10 years panel discussion. It was interesting to know the historical background of VIF and how it was started by our senior researchers related to EWRI of ASCE. 

Further, I attended the Emerging and Innovative Technologies committee meeting as well as Pathogens in Wet Weather Flows Task Committee meetings.

Thereafter, I attended the Icebreaker reception for Exhibitors in the evening and visited various stalls of exhibitors.

In the evening, VIF committee invited us for dinner in the local Thai Restaurant. It was a pleasant experience to interact with other visiting fellows from Peru, China, and India.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Attended the Urban Storm Water, Outreach, and MEENA committee meetings. Besides these committee meetings, I attended the VIF committee meeting.

In the afternoon, the Ethics Panel workshop was attended from 1:15 to 3:00 PM.

In the evening I attended the reception hosted for VIF awardees from 5:30 to 7:00 PM.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Meeting of the MEENA Committee meeting was attended.

Meeting of the outreach committee was again called to

discuss the various issues raised in the previous meeting. I

attended this important meeting and gave various

suggestions.

I also attended the session on Sustainability and presented

my paper on “Expert Systems Based Sustainability Index”.

In the evening I attended the Icebreaking session in the

Exhibition Hall. During this programme I received the VIF

award and my host was recognized during the facilitation

function.

In the evening, the VIF committee organized a dinner in

honor of VIF award recipients in the local restaurant

Post Conference Visits

After attending the EWRI Congress at Palm Springs, my host,

Dr. Aditya Tyagi invited me to his place of working Austin in

Texas. I was his personal guest and stayed with him at his house

from 26th May to 1st June 2011. During this period, I got the

opportunity to interact with his family members, namely, Mrs.

Deepa Tyagi, and his two children – Ms. Surbhi and Master Udai

Tyagi. I feel honored and indebted to Tyagi’s family for their

valuable time which they spared for me. They took personal

interest and cared so much for my stay in their house. During the

stay, they briefed me about the American Culture and

accompanied me to various places of technical and social

importance.

On Technical side, I visited the Mansfield Dam site and discussed

the key issues involved in operation and management of upstream

lake, dam, and downstream lake. I also visited the office of

CH2MHILL Company. I met the technocrats and colleagues of

Dr. Aditya Tyagi and he briefed me about the various projects on

which they are working. It was really good to note that they are

working very hard and working across the globe for solving

various Infrastructure related problems.

We also visited the Capital of Texas at Austin, and was lucky

enough to see the working session on the Memorial day. I also

visited the University of Texas, Austin and various shopping

complexes. I also visited the Sai Baba Temple in Austin which is

widely respected place of worship among Indian living in Austin.

During my stay with Dr. Aditya Tyagi, we discussed lot of

technical problems in number of sessions. Two problems were

discussed at length. During the stay, we finalized the line of

action for preparing one paper.

Visit to Bethlehem and Harrisburg :

After my visit to Austin, I travelled to Bethlehem in Pennsylvania

State and visited Lihigh University. I visited the departments of

Civil and Environmental, Chemical, and Electrical Engineering.

One of the post doctoral fellow of Prof. Arup Sengupta briefed me

about the various projects being carried out in the area of Arsenic

removal and cost effective measures being taken through the NGO

in India. I also visited the electrical engineering department and

interacted with Dr. Sushil Kumar who is working in the area of

lasers.

During my stay from June 2 to 4, I also visited one of my ex-

student who is living at Harrisburg. He showed me the various

buildings and places of cultural and political importance. He also

took me the to the Chocolate world of Harrisburg, where I saw the

fully automatic plant of chocolate making. It was indeed a life time

experience.

 

 

 

 

Short report highlighting my activities as a Visiting International Fellow: 2011

At the outset I would like to express my sincere thanks to EWRI for giving me 11th

Annual Visiting International Fellowship. I will also like to thank my host Prof.

Chittranjan Ray, Department of Hawaii at Manoa and to Dr. Bijay K. Pangarahi for

supporting me as host during the Congress in the absence of Prof. Ray. I attended the

Congress from May 22-26, 2011 and visited some other places in USA after the

Congress form May 27-June 12, 2011.

At the congress, I took part in visiting International Fellows Panel Discussion which was

mainly focused or environment and water resources management issues. It was

moderated by Dr. Elizabeth Bourget. I made a brief presentation regarding water

management concerns and approaches in the past and present in India. Participation

and questions by audience added value to the panel discussion. I presented a paper in

Technical Session VIII. Topic of my paper was “Pre-treatment of Polluted River Water

by River-bank Filtration for Water Supply”.

In addition, I attended many keynote addresses and sessions of my interest.

Interactions with colleges from different countries during the congress were really very

enriching. A recreational tour to Palm Spring’s Aerial Tramway was quite unique and

refreshing. I will also like to mention visit to Palm Spring’s famous Thursday evening

Street Market. I thoroughly enjoyed key social event organized at pool deck of

Renaissance Marriott Palm Springs Hotel and various other social/technical events

organized at the Congress by ASCE/EWRI/VIF award committee. Overall, my stay at

Palm Springs was academically and otherwise also very fruitful and an enjoyable

experience.

After the congress, I visited Chicago, Naperville, Newark, Philadelphia, Washington DC

and Reston for sightseeing and to meet friends and relatives. I was particularly

fascinated by historical sites related to independence of America in and around

Philadelphia. I also visited US Mint, National Constitution Center, The Liberty Bell, and

Independence Hall etc. in down town Philadelphia. I was particularly touched by the

truthful depiction of the story of long struggle by blacks to get equal rights. I especially

enjoyed Independence Day Parade by school children and others in a neighborhood of

Philadelphia. I travelled from Philadelphia to Washington DC by train. I saw various

landmarks of Washington DC e.g. US Capitol Building, White House, Lincoln Memorial,

Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument etc in the night and in day light.

During the Congress and afterwards also I had some fruitful discussions with Dr.

Sudarshan Kurwadkar, Assistant Professor, Environmental Engineering, Department of

Engineering and Physics, Tarleton State University. I will like to collaborate with Dr.

Sudarshan in future. Prof. Ray, my host, is submitting a pre-proposal to the National

Science Foundation of the US for an international project on riverbank filtration involving

research and education. There is a possibility of including me as a collaborator from

India in the proposed project. This will allow some of the US students to travel to India

and work in my institute. I consider this an outcome of this award.

Overall, my trip to USA was quite satisfactory.

Pradeep Kumar,

Professor, Department of Civil Engineering,

IIT Roorkee,

Roorkee - 247667, India

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONGRESO MUNDIAL DE AGUA Y MEDIOAMBIENTE 

INFORME  

CAYO LEONIDAS RAMOS TAIPE 

Profesor del Departamento de Recursos Hídricos – FIA ‐ UNALM 

 

ORGANIZADO POR: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) ‐ Environmental & Water 

Resources Institute (EWRI) 

 

   

 INTRODUCTION: This report covers the activities undertaken by the undersigned  in the United States of America, during participation in the XI World Water Congress and the Environment, held in the city of Palm Springs, California, during days 22 to 26 in May 2011.  Also,  on  the  pre  and  post  academic  conference,  the  program  of  cultural  activities:  course "Introduction to the CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System"  issued by Dr. David Maidment, visit the University of Berkeley and visit  the Water Department San Francisco  (East Buy Municipality Utility District).      

VISITING INTERNATIONAL FELLOWS:  

This year, were selected four international visitors: 

Prof(a). Chen Zang, Lecturer/Assistant Professor, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, 

PRC, China 

Prof. Pradeep Kumar, Ph.D., Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, India  

Ph.D., Department of Water Resources Development and Management, Indian Institute of 

Technology (IIT), Roorkee, India  

Prof.  Cayo  Leonidas  Ramos  Taipe,  Assistant  Professor,  La  Molina  National  Agrarian 

University, Lima, Perú  

Each  of  us  was  responsible  for  the  presentation  of  a  conference  of  about  15  min  on  the 

Management of Water Resources of our respective countries and was complemented by a panel 

of Reflection on the Management of Water Resources and suggestions for improvement. 

The exhibits were contextualized in: 

• What are the characteristics of water resources in our country? 

• What are the major challenges in water resources in our country? 

• What are the roles of government institutions and NGOs in addressing these challenges? 

• Are  there  any historical or  cultural  value  that  influences  the orientation of  the  challenges  in 

water resources? 

• As climate change affects and how they are taking steps to guide the planning of it.  

Participants were awarded with a Diploma of Honor awarded by the ASCE and EWRI, participation 

in conferences and presentation of scientific paper. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo 01: Conference on Water 

Resources in Peru 

Photo 02: Panel discussion on the 

orientation of the Water Resources 

Management

Personally,  it has been a very peculiar, because I had the opportunity to participate  in one of the 

most  important meetings regarding  the Worldwide Water and Environment resources, which by 

its nature attracts a large number of researchers and scholars, with whom had the opportunity to 

exchange ideas, views and cultural aspects of our countries. 

 

Interaction with other  researchers  in  the  field of water management and  in  relation  to  climate 

change has allowed me to better guide my future research and glimpse the path of academia and 

research in these areas. 

 

Knowing  the  reality  of  other  places,  allows  us  to  realize  that  there  are  similar  efforts  similar 

problems and that the challenge is often global water issues and this motivates us to network and 

communication with researchers who are doing work similar to us. 

 

 

 

 

TECHNICAL AND CULTURAL PROGRAM 

I  had  the opportunity  to  participate in  the pre‐congress course "CUAHSI",  visit  to the EASTBAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT and visit the University of Berkeley.  

 

Curso: “Introduction to the CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System”  

Dirigido por: Dr. David Maidment 

 Platform during collection, storage and  information management climatological, hydrological and water quality and soil, developed with the aim of bringing the information to researchers and can be standardized and recognized by all formats. 

Photo 03 and 04: Exhibition of Technical Paper 

  Is being developed by the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, and have as leader David Maidment, until today have the ability to integrate real‐time information with  hydroobjetos,  located  in  GIS  software  and  coupled  to  Google  Earth  these  data  can  be exported to hydroexcel and processed easily.    

VISITA A EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT 

This visit was very enlightening, I could see how the city of San 

Francisco  is  provides  by  water  and  how  the  wastewater  is 

treated before returning to the water bodies. 

 

I understood that  is necesary to enforce the rules with a great 

effort  in  monitoring  and  control.  Also  efforts  in  the 

implementation of orientation programs, raising awareness and 

educating the public, regarding the conservation and protection 

of  water  sources  and  how  to  avoid  contamination  with 

household and industrial sewage. 

 

VISIT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF BERKELEY 

It was a very fruitful visit, because it allowed to share and 

exchange experiences and challenges of water management 

and research opportunities, share some options for 

improvement. 

I had a tour University facilities, toured the laboratories, libraries and research areas 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledgement  

My  special  thanks  for  EWRI‐ASCE member  PhD. Walter Grayman,  for  support me  and  to  have opportunity to attend in such important and interesting Congress.   I would  like  to express my sincere gratitude  to Lisa Bourget  for arrangment of panel discussion, support and help in preparing work of my visit and during of Congress.   Also  I would  like  to  express my  sincere  gratitude  to my  host  person  Charlotte  Smith  for  her openheartedness and support and excellent organization of the program of technical and cultural events in San Francisco. 

Visiting International Fellowship 2011‐2012  The International Council (IC) of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI) congratulates the following Visiting International Fellows to the 2012 World Water and Environmental Resources Congress in Albuquerque, New Mexico:  Mr. Chunliang Cui, China Host:  Dr. Zhuping Sheng Paper title:  Sustainability of ancient karez systems in arid lands: a case study in Turpan region of China       Dr. Muna Abu Dalo, Jordan Host:  Dr. Aline Cotel and Dr. Avery Demond Paper title:  Industrial wastewater remediation in Jordan  In addition to presenting their papers at the Congress, the Fellows also participated in a special panel discussion on international water and environmental issues.  Each Fellow also participated in professional exchange activities during their visit to the United States (see their reports for more details).  The Fellows were selected based on a competitive review of their applications. 

Visiting International Fellowship 2013‐2014  The International Council (IC) of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI) congratulates the following Visiting International Fellows to the 2013 World Water and Environmental Resources Congress in Cincinnati, Ohio:  Dr. Bhagu R. Chahar, India Host:  Dr. Barbara Minsker Paper title:  Groundwater modeling of Banas River Basin       Dr. Kristina Toderich, Uzbekistan Host:  Dr. Laurel Saito Paper title:  Web‐based platforms of water quality of Zarafshan River basin integrated with promotion of technologies of marginal resources       Dr. Rajesh Gupta, India Host:  Dr. Aditya Tyagi Paper title:  Optimal design of level‐1 redundant water distribution networks with fuzzy demands  In addition to presenting their papers at the Congress, the Fellows also participated in a special panel discussion on international water and environmental issues.  Each Fellow also participated in professional exchange activities during their visit to the United States (see their reports for more details).  The Fellows were selected based on a competitive review of their applications. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL & WATER RESOURCES CONGRESS 2013 

A Comprehensive Report on Visit of  

VISITING INTERNATIONAL FELLOW

 

CINCINNATI, OHIO 

May 19‐23, 2013 

RAJESH GUPTA 

PROFESSOR 

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING 

 

VISVESVARAYA NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 

NAGPUR, M.S., 440 010, INDIA 

Visiting International Fellowship (VIF) award is becoming more and more popular in

developing countries as this award provides opportunity to researchers to interact with in US

experts, develop a network for collaborative research work and visit various cities to know

about US culture. I certainly feel honoured by receiving this award in 2013 at Cincinnati,

Ohio. I came to know about this fellowship at the World Environmental and Water Resources

Congress 2012 held at Albuquerque, New Mexico. I attended that Congress to fulfil one of

my dreams of visiting US. I presented my research work "Water Quality Reliability-based

Design of Water Distribution Networks". During this congress, I came in contact with Dr.

Aditya Tyagi, Principal Technocrat, CH2M HILL, Austin, who happens to have worked in the

field of reliability engineering. He encouraged me to apply for the VIF next year and

accepted to be my host. It is because of his encouragement and guidance I applied and got

qualified for the fellowship for 2013. I appreciate and owe this award due to efforts of Dr.

Aditya Tyagi, who not only inspired and encouraged me but also provided all necessary

support at Cincinnati as a good host. He introduced me to various technical committees and

experts in the area of Environment and Water Resources Engineering. It is because of him

that I could attend World Environmental and Resources Congress in consecutive years.

Without this fellowship, perhaps it would not have been possible for me to attend second

congress in a row. I would like to thank him once again from bottom of my heart for being my

host this year. He was earlier hosts for Dr. Arun Goel in 2009 and Dr. M. L. Kansal in 2011.

I have attended several International Conferences in past in India and abroad. The

particularity of ASCE-EWRI Congress which I liked most is the Symposium on Water

Distribution Systems Analysis. Sixteen full sessions in 4 days containing more than 75

papers from experts all over the world on various topics related to water distribution network

really enriched my knowledge beyond my expectations. I enjoyed listening presentations of

researchers/ field engineers/ software developers/ manufacturers for 4 full days with full

enthusiasm. In fact, after attending the ASCE-EWRI Congress at Albuquerque in 2012, I

started encouraging my Ph.D. and PG students to contribute papers in Water Distribution

Systems Analysis Symposium. This year one of my research scholar and colleague in

Department, Miss Shilpa Dongre attended ASCE-EWRI Congress at Cincinnati to present

her research. Now, I am looking for next congress to be held at Portland, and would like to

attend with my students to make it three in a row, of course it will depend up on funding.

On very first day at Cincinnati, I met Dr. Sudarshan Kurwadkar, Assistant Professor

of Environmental Engineering, Department of Engineering and Computer Science, Tarleton

State University, Stephenville, Texas. He happened to be supervisor of one of my past PG

students, Mr. Kailash Malwade, now working for PhD. When Kailash read on the face book

that I am going to Cincinnati to attend EWRI Congress, he informed to his guide to contact

me. I spent lot of time with Dr. Sudarshan to discuss about research, American Universities,

American Culture and a lot about America. I am still in touch with him.

During the networking break, receptions and committee meetings, I met and

interacted with several EWRI-ASCE officials (Dr. Brian Parsons, Dr. Vijay P. Singh, Dr. Uday

Singh, Dr. Mohammad Karamouz, Mr. Derek D. Wride) to promote EWRI-ASCE activities in

India. I met and interacted with many stalwarts in the area of Environment and Water

Resources Engineering. To name the few are Dr. Walters Grayman, Dr. Thomas Walski, Dr.

Lindell Ormsbee, Dr. Avi Ostfeld, Dr. Jim Uber, Dr. Srini Lingireddy, Dr. C.S.P. Ojha and Dr.

M. L. Kansal.

I will never forget the support and time provided by my friend Dr. Srini Lingireddy

during may stay at Cincinnati. The very first thing that he did was purchasing a mobile for me

so that I can always be in contact with him during my stay at America. He took me and Dr. B.

R. Chahar (other recipient of VIF from India) on drive to show various places in Cincinnati.

He showed us EPA office, University of Cincinnati, Botanical Garden, market place, Ohio

river side, suburban area of Cincinnati and Covington, city on the other bank of river. While

showing those places, he informed about them and told a lot about history of America. After

the conference he spent one more day with me and took me to University of Kentucky,

Lexington, KY. I spent full day with Dr. Lindell Ormsbee and other colleagues in the Water

Resources Department. We shared our ongoing research activities and decided some of the

topics for joint research work. I am now in contact with him and working on some of the

topics with his association.

 

During the conference, I attended almost all sessions of 15th Water Distribution

System Analysis Symposium barring a few which were concurrent or parallel with VIF

session. I attended few committee meetings and after coming back to India involved myself

with task Committee on "Water Distribution System Calibration". I attended few council

breakfast lectures and enjoyed very much lecture given by Dr. Thomas Walski.

I left Cincinnati on 26th May morning and reached home on 28th May with sweet

memories of conference and time spent in Cincinnati and Kentucky. I am grateful to

everyone specially members of VIF task committee, who supported my candidature and

found me worthy for this fellowship. This fellowship has added a feather on my cap. Once

again I would like to thank my host Dr. Aditya Tyagi and my friend Dr. Lingireddy for

providing all logistic and technical support for conference and during my stay at Cincinnati.

Few photographs taken during the conference and during visit to University of

Kentucky are attached.

 

 

 

R E P O R T of the Visiting International Fellow for the 2013 World Water and Environmental Resources Congress 19-23 May 2013 in Cincinnati, Ohio US, Dr. Kristina Toderich, International Center for Bioslaine Agriculture for Central Asia and Caucasus, Uzbekistan. I have arrived to US on May 23, 2013 and attended World Water and Environmental Resources Congress in Cincinnati, Ohio, where I gave a presentation on “Web-based platforms of water quality of Zarafshan River basin integrated with promotion of technologies of marginal resources.” Although I arrived at the conference late due to travel delays and cancellations, my host, Dr. Laurel Saito, was able to participate on my behalf in the Visiting International Fellowship Panel Discussion and the International Reception. The efforts made by Dr. Derek Wride of CDM-Smith and Prof. Laurel Saito of the University of Nevada Reno were extremely important to make my participation in such congress a very fruitful and unforgettable experience. Between 25 May – 04 June I worked together with Prof. Laurel Saito, Natural Resources and Environmental Science Department of University of Nevada in Reno (UNR). At this department I made a presentation on 26 May 2013 on “Domestication of Wild Fodder and Medicinal Halophytes for Improvement of Degraded Desert Marginal Lands and Better Livelihood of Agropastoralists” conducted by International Center for Biosaline Agriculture within framework of different collaborative projects on salt affected abandoned farmer lands in different Central Asian countries with a special focus on Aral Sea Basin. Interdisciplinary water resources assessment approaches for utilization of saline water for biosaline agriculture promotion and adoption were also discussed. This presentation was organized for professional staff, scholars and students of Natural Resources and Environmental Science Department and Graduate Program of Hydrologic Sciences of UNR and contained current water resources problems and research needs. The presentation was well received by the audience, with many questions from interested scholars at UNR to elaborate about new fields of collaboration On the same day I attended a round table meeting with US partners (Dr. Laurel Saito, Dr. Robert Nowak, Dr. Glenn Miller, Tanna DeRuyter and Dr. Michael Rosen) regarding current achievements and further planning of research for my current PEER (Partnership for Enhanced Engagement in Research) project entitled “Utilization of low quality water for halophytic forage and renewable energy production, funded by USAID and NSF. We also discussed their project to develop a salinity module for the USDA APEX model and the inclusion of halophytes in the APEX model. Special focus was given on strengths of the APEX field-scale model, field data collection in Uzbekistan, and parameterization and model validation to enable us to simulate halophytic cropping to estimate salt dynamics over long time scales and with different types of crops and irrigation management schemes. Potential possibilities of future collaboration ere discussed during the following meetings on 26 May-03 June 2013: Meeting with Dr. Mark Walker, Chair of the Department of Natural Resources and

Environmental Science at UNR Meeting with Dr. Robert Nowak, Professor in the Department of Natural Resources and

Environmental Science at UNR Meeting with Dr. Glenn Miller, Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry in the

Department of Natural Resources an Environmental Science at UNR Meeting with Barry Perryman, Livestock Nutritional expert in the Department of

Agriculture, Nutrition, and Veterinary Science at UNR Meeting with Dr. Clinton Davis, post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Natural

Resources an Environmental Science at UNR about his study of quagga mussel survival in Lake Tahoe Project

I met with Dr. Michael Rosen, United States Geological Survey (USGS) in Carson City on 30 May 2013, where I gave a presentation on “Water Resources Evaluation: challengies and sustainable utilization in Uzbekistan” on current international and state research projects carried out in Uzbekistan on water resources evaluation. Special discussion was given to causes of salinity level of surface and ground waters in the Aral Sea area, its consequences for agriculture, ecosystem and population health and possible options for their sustainable utilization. On June 1, 2013, I met with Ms. Patti Bakker, manager of the Truckee River Restoration Project for The Nature Conservancy. I met Ms. Bakker at the Mustang Ranch an McCarran Ranch locations, where I got familiarized with restoration of riparian ecosystems along Truckee River. On the same day accompanied by Dr. Jay Davison, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, I have visited agricultural marginal alkaline sodic affected farmer fields in Nevada Nile Ranch, Lovelock. Irrigated agriculture in these regions faces the continuous challenge of land salinization irrigated lands are affected by salt accumulation, resulting in reduced crop yields and complete loss of production in some cases due to early frosts and droughts in addition to salinization problems.

It was discussed that introducing of crops diversification including utilization of halophytes as source of forage for livestock; landscaping, energy-crops, medicinal and others economically valuable sources in these drylands areas. Possibilities of collaboration with University of Nevada Cooperative Extension were discussed.

On 2 June 2013 with professional guidance of Dr. Louis Provencher of The Nature

Conservancy, I got familiarized with environmental issues including water resources use for agriculture, current status and nature protection project for rehabilitation of desert rangelands vegetation; riparian forest and arid wetlands ecosystems in the Great Basin of Nevada. We also analyzed the floristic diversity of halophytes on saline prone lands in the Walker and Carson River Valleys.

Last days of my visit in US, I worked in collaboration with Prof Laurel Saito on completion of possible joint papers, proposals to be submitted in Uzbekistan with participation of different professional groups from UNR. Finally, I feel very proud being a Visiting International Fellow for the EWRI World Water and Environmental Congress 2013 in Cincinnati, Ohio and work with researchers from Natural Resources and Environmental Science Department of University of Nevada Reno and Dr. Michael Rosen, United State Geology Survey (USGS) to contribute for future effective research and educational collaboration between Uzbekistan and US scholars.

Dr Kristina Toderich, Uzbekistan, Regional Representative,

International Center for Biosaline Agriculture for Central Asia and Caucasus (ICBA-CAC)

\Visiting of alkaline-sodic farmer lands , Nevada Nile Ranch, Lovelock (meeting with local leaders)

Dr, Prof Michael Rosen, USGS Agency, Carson city; Dr. Glenn Miller, Laboratory of

Environmental Chemistry in the Department of Natural Resources an Environmental Science at UNR

Salt affected lands nearby Pyramid Lake Overview of Pyramid Lake

Dr. Louis Provencher, The Nature Conservancy in Nevada guideline on wetlands strategies restoration and protection

Visiting International Fellowship 2013‐2014  The International Council (IC) of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI) congratulates the following Visiting International Fellows to the 2014 World Water and Environmental Resources Congress in Portland, Oregon:  Dr. Haifeng Jia, China Host:  Dr. James Heaney Paper title:  Estimating allowable pollution loads and its allocation in a typical bay of Taihu Lake  In addition to presenting his paper at the Congress, the Fellow also participated in a special panel discussion on international water and environmental issues.  The Fellow also participated in professional exchange activities during his visit to the United States (see his report for more details).  The Fellows were selected based on a competitive review of their applications. 

Visiting International Fellowship 2014‐2015  The International Council (IC) of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI) congratulates the following Visiting International Fellows to the 2015 World Water and Environmental Resources Congress in Austin, Texas:  Dr. Mahendra Kadu, India Host:  Dr. Venkataramana Sridhar Paper title:  Infrastructure leakage index and challenges in water loss management in developing countries  In addition to presenting his paper at the Congress, the Fellow also participated in a special panel discussion on international water and environmental issues.  Each Fellow also participated in professional exchange activities during their visit to the United States (see their reports for more details).  The Fellows were selected based on a competitive review of their applications. 

 

 

 

Report on ASCE‐EWRI World Congress: May 17‐21, 2015: Austin, 

Texas, USA, attended by Dr M S Kadu as Visiting International Fellow 

                                                                                                          

                                                                                                            M S Kadu 

International  Council  (IC)  of  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers’  Environmental  and  water 

resources  Institute  (ASCE‐EWRI)  established  the Visiting  International  Fellowship  program  to 

promote  cultural and  technical exchange between  the professionals of USA, Canada and  the 

developing  Countries.  Every  year,  three  Visiting  International  Fellows  from  the  developing 

countries are selected by the ASCE‐EWRI’s International Council based on the research, training 

and  field  contributions  of  the  professionals,  experts  and  faculty  working  in  the  field  of 

environment and water resources sector.  In this 13th year of establishment of this award,   Dr 

Mahendra Kadu, Professor and Head, Civil Engineering Department, Shri Ramdeobaba College 

of  Engineering  and  Management  was  selected  as  one  of  the  recipient  of  this  recognition 

including Mr Fetus Anane, a scientist with Ghana’s Council of Scientific and  Industrial Research 

and    Building  and  Road  Research  Institute  (CSIR‐BRRI)  and Mr.  Sayyed  Hassan  Tabatabaei, 

faculty of Shahrekord University, Iran. The conference is held at Austin, Texas, USA during May 

17‐21,  2015.   Dr Mahendra  Kadu  is  awarded with  this  recognition  on  18th May  2015  at  the 

hands of Paul Bizier, EWRI President  and Mr Brian K Parsons, EWRI Director. The  fellowship 

covered conference registration, annual membership of ASCE‐EWRI, and part expenses towards 

travel.  

Additionally  , Dr Kadu has also presented a paper  titled “Infrastructure Leakage  Index 

and Challenges  in Water Loss Management  in Developing Countries” This was appreciated on 

the  count  that  the  proposed  methodology  suggested  for  determination  of  Infrastructure 

Leakage  Index  (ILI)—a  technical performance  indicator  for  real  loss management—  for water 

utilities in developing countries which are mostly run in intermittent mode can suitably be used 

in  other  developing  countries  facing  similar  socio‐economical  and  technical  problems  as 

witnessed  in  India.  It  is to be noted here that  irrespective of a  lot of efforts no city  in  India  is 

being provided with 24x7 water supplies.   Nagpur, a second capital of Maharashtra, is supplied 

with 640 million liters per day water from various sources and the revenue is collected only for 

280 Mld; only one pilot  zone  is being  supplied with 24x7  supply. Unless and until  the water 

utilities are not managed professionally using  (1) appropriate customized tools  for billing that 

takes care of socio‐economic, cultural and technical problems with our utilities, (2) well crafted 

active  leakage management  strategies  (3)  Education:  creation  of  awareness  among masses 

about  reduce,  reuse  and  recycle  of water  (4)  regulation  and  its  implementation,  equitable 

distribution of drinking water and providing 24x7 water supply to all may remain a dream for a 

long time to come. At present availability of water is not the problem and therefore, we are not 

showing more concern to this precious resource. However,  looking at the population growth, 

industrial and agricultural development, changed  life styles and changing climatic regimes, we 

are  going  to  be  water  starved  nation  very  soon.  Investment  on  mitigation  and  remedial 

measures  have  always  been  proved  to  be  cost  effective  than  expenditures  on  relief  and 

rehabilitation measures.  

Dr Kadu has  also participated  in panel discussion on  “International perspective of on 

Environment and Water resources” wherein he has stressed on the need of taking progressive 

strategic  steps  towards  using  advanced  research,  improved  technologies  and  customized 

tools/techniques  in  water  resources  sector  considering  inherent  socio‐economic,  cultural 

problems  in dealing with  this continuously depleting precious commodity  through education, 

framing of regulations and its implementation. The management of water resources is a global 

problem, we  need  integrated  local  solutions.   As  an  individual,  life‐long  learner,  responsible 

citizen everybody can play a vital role in judiciously using and maintaining the water resources 

of  our  country  for  the  next  generations  to  come;  It  is  all  about      changing  attitudes  and 

approach towards looking at the problems.  

During  the conference, he could  interact with  luminaries  in water sector  like Thomas Walski, 

Lindell  Ombersee,  Jeanne  VanBriesen  ‐ Women  of  the  Year  awardee,    Professor    Christine 

Shoemaker, Cornell University‐lifetime achievement awardee, Dr David Walter, Er Lacey Bodnar 

of LEED Geen Association, Houston, Dr Achintya Bezbaruah of North Dakota State University, Dr 

Ruben  Kertesz  of  EmNet,  Cincinnati, OH,  Professor  Emmanual Nzewi  of  Prairie View A & M 

University, , Prairie View, Tx, Dr V Sridhar  of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 

Dr Alfred  Kalyanapu  of  Tennessee  Tech University    and many  others  from  various  institutes 

from  India  and  abroad.    The  interaction with  them may  help  us  in  organizing  international 

conference, writing  joint  research papers  in peer  reviewed SCI  journals, organization of short 

term  courses  for  students  and  faculty  in  advanced  tool  and  techniques  in water  resources 

sector, sending students  for  international conferences and  in  taking up some sponsored pilot 

projects in the utility of advanced tools in managing water resources in India.   

The World  Conference  was  attended  by  1000+  professionals,  field  experts  and  the 

faculties  in  the  field  of  water  Resources  Engineering.    About  580  technical  papers  were 

presented  in  six  parallel        sessions  daily.    The  themes  included  planning  and management, 

sustainability, watershed, hydraulics and water ways (computation), hydraulics and water ways 

(sedimentation), municipal water infrastructure, hydro‐climate, coastal flood risk management 

and  resiliency,  emerging  and  innovative  technologies,  environmental,  Groundwater,  water 

distribution  system  analysis,  Desalination  and  water,  International  participation.      And  the 

subthemes  were:    Urban  watershed  management,  water  distribution  systems  analysis, 

Desalination  and  water  reuse,  emerging  and  innovative  technologies,  history  and  heritage, 

Frequency analysis and flood risk management, real time modeling and surge analysis, Natural 

and constructed wetlands, hydraulic structures, planning and management, sustainability and 

public  policy,  adaptive management  and  impact  assessment,  emerging  issues  and  trends  in 

water  supply,  hydrologic  data  uncertainty,    Improving  water  budget  calculations,  Hydro 

climatology  of  draughts,  emerging  and  innovative  technologies  in  water  treatment,  Tools, 

methods  and metrics  for  evaluating  sustainability, water  supply  and  climate  risk,  innovative 

waste water  treatment processes,  free  surface  flow model  verification  and  validation, urban 

storm water  flood management: modeling  tools, Advancement  in methods  for  groundwater 

resources management, uncertainty quantification and decision making, hydro climatology of 

droughts,  Irrigation  and drainage,  statistical hydrology: progress  , methods  and  applications, 

computational  methods  in  hydraulics,  remote  sensing,  ground  water  and  surface  water 

systems, optimal operations.   

    Dr M S Kadu receiving VIF‐2015 Award  

                Dr M S Kadu with T. Walski and L. Ormsbee 

                Q & A session after paper presentation 

                                                         

Acknowledgements: Dr M S Kadu acknowledges the support, guidance and freedom extended 

by  the  proactive Management,  Principal  and  the  authorities  of  Shri  Ramdeobaba  College  of 

Engineering and Management (RCOEM) which has culminated into making my contributions in 

water sector that has  lead to this recognition.  It  is because of the continuous encouragement 

and  conducive  atmosphere  available  at  the  institute  which  helps  us  in  making  such 

achievements.   

 (Dr Mahendra Kadu) Processor & Head (Civil) RCOEM, Nagpur