On July 30, the National Ground Water Research and Educational Foundation (NGWREF) announced its 2016 Darcy Lecture presenter. Each year the Henry Darcy Distinguished Lecture Series in Groundwater Science, as it is more formally known, is presented at universities and other scientific institutions around the world by the chosen speaker for the year. In 2016, Ty Ferré, Ph.D., a professor in the University of Arizona’s Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, will travel to research institutions worldwide presenting this year’s lecture, and Woodard & Curran is proud to be one of the three organizations sponsoring the tour.
Next year’s presentation, entitled “Seeing Things Differently: Rethinking the Relationship Between Data and Models,” will explore the ways in which the practice of hydrology has been dependent on computer models while new methods have been simultaneously developing for characterizing and monitoring subsurface. He asserts that a more unified approach for the practice is needed and will present an integrated outline of the ways models and measurements can be combined with one another. The presentation is sure to be educational and useful to hydrogeologists, which is characteristic of this lecture series as a whole.
The series, named for Henry Darcy—whose discoveries in the 19th century created the basis for today’s study of groundwater hydrogeology, was established in 1986 with a goal to raise interest and promote excellence in groundwater science and technology. Over the past 19 years, it has reached more than 85,000 groundwater students, faculty members, and professionals. What sets this particular lecture series apart from other similar seminars is its strong history of presenting research that has definitive applications to the real world practice of hydrogeology. Each year, the groundwater professional chosen to share his or her work reliably translates theoretical research to applied science for the presenter’s students and peers.
Woodard & Curran is proud to be sponsoring the lecture series for the next three years, and I’m excited to attend Dr. Ferré’s first presentation in December. Look for another blog post from me after the lecture detailing what I learn from it and what insights it provides for the next year of research and work in the field of hydrogeology. The NGWREF makes the Darcy Lecture available to universities and other institutions worldwide for no fee. If you’d like to request a presentation, you can complete the presentation request form online, or contact Rachel Geddes at rgeddes@ngwa.org.
