CSU’s Watershed Science Department turns 50

Water may appear to be a relatively simple concept to most—it falls from the sky, flows down the river basin and pours from the tap. But Dr. Peter Black takes no light approach to this subject.

Black has had a successful career in water- and land-related resources that primarily began at Colorado State University back in 1961. He was the first student to earn their Ph.D from the then-newly established Cooperative Watershed Management Unit Program, now called the Watershed Science program. This week, almost 50 years after he was a student at CSU, Black was one of many distinguished alumni that were asked to present research and speak for the program’s anniversary.

“At one point in time, 60 percent of professors teaching in watershed science were from here (CSU),” Black said. “It’s a great field to be in and a great institution to be studying it in.”

In honor of the occasion, the department put on a three-day celebration commencing last Thursday and culminating on Saturday. Professors, faculty, alumni, graduate and undergrads, as well as numerous people involved in the watershed field, all participated in the events that included technical sessions, lectures, luncheons, a Fort Collins brewery tour, a Pingree Park snowshoe hike and a ski trip to A-Basin.

The anniversary celebration partially overlapped with the 28th annual American Geophysical Union’s Hydrology Days conference, a unique celebration of multi-disciplinary hydrologic science and its closely related disciplines. The event provided a forum for scientists, professionals and students involved in research on all aspects of water to share ideas, problems, analyses and solutions.

Melinda Laituri, an associate professor of watershed science who has taught at CSU for 12 years and was the program’s first female faculty member, was initially attracted to the program’s pioneer legacy.

“This was the first watershed program in the country and still is one of the best,” Laituri commented. “We strive to educate the public and students on better understanding the role concerning the science of how we manage water resources.”

The program was initially started in 1957 under a grant from the Charles Lathrop Pack Foundation in an attempt to study and gain research of the natural processes of human activities that affect water resources on a watershed scale. Graduates tend to gravitate toward careers in environmental consulting, water quality analysis, watershed management and analysis, water conservation and land use specialty jobs.

Ernesto Trujillo, 31, a civil engineering graduate student at CSU, originally from Columbia, was in attendance for the festivities on Thursday. He delivered a presentation on special variations in snow depth at alpine and sub-alpine environments.

“This is a really good opportunity to get in touch with researchers in my field,” Trujillo said. “You get to show off your work in a semi-intimate setting.”

Jordan Revielle, 24, a hydrology student from the Colorado School of Mines presented a solute transport modeling diagram detailing a chemical spill plan.

“This is a great way for students to get their ideas across and is a good first step for students in the science community,” Reveille said. “People seemed interested in my lecture and I received some good feedback.”