Provides students with a qualitative introduction to atmospheric, surface and subsurface hydrology. The course presents the science- based management tools needed to assess how human activities affect the natural water cycle, and how these activities can either protect or threaten water security, which is the ability to access sufficient quantities of clean water to provide for local needs.

This class will look at the topic of water security through multiple perspectives, including historical to current day examples of water security challenges, water security at the nexus of water quality, water quantity and water equity considerations, water security in the face of competing demands and threats, and water security planning.

Examines the evolution of water policy in the United States and the substantive roles that federal and state water resource institutions play. Students who take this course will study the types of information, criteria and policies used to craft decisions germane to water projects, and the efforts undertaken at the federal and state levels to mitigate unanticipated environmental and social impacts, and improve prospects for a more resilient water future. In addition to exploring federal activities, including the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation, both active in the planning and construction of the dams, waterways, flood control and irrigation systems throughout the nation, water policy will be discussed through case studies of California, Florida and Texas, three states that offer a range of water resource issues of significant contemporary concern. In sum, students will gain a better understanding of the legal and institutional frameworks within which water resources are managed, the current policy issues that govern water use, and the broader implications of climate change for future water security.

Examines the concepts of risk, vulnerability and resilience in natural hazards, including how this relates to policy choices, mitigation techniques, and the allocation of resources. The course combines physical and social/ cultural perspectives to examine preparedness and mitigation decisions for hydrology-related hazards, including floods, droughts, and coastal threats. The course involves hands-on case studies of federally-declared disasters to examine the causes, impacts, and means to reduce future risk. By taking a holistic view of hazards beyond the physical causes and impacts, we can work to prepare our communities for the challenges they face.

This seminar style course provides an integrative understanding of the components of Earth’s climate system, natural climate variability, external drivers of climate change, climate extremes, and water sustainability. With an overview of the climate change’s causes, effects, and solutions, this course further examines how climate change impact on multiple sectors, with focus on water, agriculture, energy, natural hazards and environmental sustainability.

Course provides a comprehensive examination of watershed assessment, management, planning, protection, and restoration. Processes governing drainage-basin scale physiography, hydrology, hydrogeomorphology, and ecology are examined, emphasizing water quality-driven approaches to watershed management and restoration.

This is a foundational survey course that considers both technical and sociocultural aspects of project management across the full project life cycle. This course introduces the student to the concepts and solutions that support the planning, scheduling, controlling, resource allocation, and performance measurement activities required for successful completion of a project. The course introduces project management from the standpoint of a manager who must organize, plan, implement, and control tasks to achieve an organization’s schedule, budget, and performance objectives. Tools and concepts such as project charter, scope statement, work breakdown structure, project estimating, project network diagrams, responsibility assignment matrices, and scheduling methodologies are studied.

An inter-disciplinary course to learn the basics of climate change, and its impacts on the interactions among water, energy, and food nexus. The course provides fundamental theories of climate change, water cycle, and technologies about renewable energy (hydro, wind, solar, ocean, biomass, geothermal) and non-renewable energy (fossil fuels). The course talks about global food production and teaches basic Python programming.

This course encompasses water technologies and their extended innovation processes in three substantive sections. A basic understanding of technological innovation frameworks precedes discussion of water systems. The second section addresses water policy in general as well as specific cases of policy innovation. The final section covers organizations and how they can become more innovative with respect to water systems.