Announcements and Application
Graduate students from Virginia Tech are invited each spring to submit applications to the Virginia Water Resources Research Center for the William R. Walker graduate fellowship. Eligible applicants for the fellowship are individuals enrolled in a water resources-related graduate program at Virginia Tech and who did not study water resources as an undergraduate student, or individuals with work experience returning to graduate school. The award will be effective the fall semester following the deadline date so incoming students are also eligible. The intent of this fellowship is to support graduate students in water resources whose undergraduate field or discipline was different than water resources or for graduate students in water resources who have returned to school following a period of professional work.
The Water Center has offered the Walker Award since 1999. The awards are effective at the start of the fall semester each year.
Funds can be used at the recipient’s discretion, during enrollment at a university as a student, for professional development (such as attending workshops and conferences) and purchasing materials that will enhance professional productivity (such as books and software).
Applications are now open and are due on May 24, 2024 at 5:00 PM. For more information, contact: Dr. Daniel McLaughlin at mclaugd@vt.edu; or the main Water Center office at water@vt.edu or (540) 231-5624.
Sketch of William Walker by George Wills of Blacksburg, VA. (http://www.etsy.com/people/BlacksburgArt).
Past Recipients
- 2024 Paramita Chakraborty, Department of Geography, Virginia Tech
- 2023 Chantaly Villalona, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech
- 2022 Katie Mayer, Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech
- 2021 Caitlin Shipman, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech
- 2021 Joseph Buckwalter, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation
- 2020 Carla López Lloreda, Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech
- 2019 Kristen Bretz, Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech
- 2018 Mary Lofton, Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech
- 2017 Jacob Diamond, Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech
- 2016 Travis Spangler, Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech
- 2015 Carlos Mantilla Pena, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech
- 2014 Heather Govenor, Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech
- 2013 J. P. Gannon, Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech and Stephanie Houston, Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech
- 2012 Sarah Eagle, Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech and Beatriz Mogollón, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech
- 2011 Jonathan Mellor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Virginia and Wesley Zell, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Virginia
- 2010 Jeanne M. Roningen, Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech
- 2009 John Petrie, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech
- 2008 Shawn Rosenquist, Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech
- 2007 Christina C. Davis, PE, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech
- 2006 Rachel Lauer, Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech
- 2005 Kevin R. Gilmore, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech
- 2004 Jason P. Barbour, Civil Engineering, University of Virginia
- 2003 Forest Platt Walker, Geological Sciences, Virginia Tech
- 2002 Michelle Lynn Peterie, Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech
- 2001 Mira Stone Olson, Civil Engineering Department, University of Virginia
- 2000 Kimberly Alice Powers, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech
- 1999 Theresa Maria Wynn, Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech
Select publications from recent Walker Fellows:
Bretz, K. A., Murphy, N. N., & Hotchkiss, E. R. (2023). Carbon biogeochemistry and export governed by flow in a non-perennial stream. Water Resources Research, 59, e2022WR034004, doi.org/10.1029/2022WR034004
Diamond, J. S., McLaughlin, D. L., Slesak, R. A., D’Amato, A. W., & Palik, B. J. (2018). Forested versus herbaceous wetlands: Can management mitigate ecohydrologic regime shifts from invasive emerald ash borer? Journal of Environmental Management, 222, 436-446. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.05.082
Diamond, J. S., McLaughlin, D. L., Slesak, R. A., & Stovall, A. (2019). Pattern and structure of microtopography implies autogenic origins in forested wetlands. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 23(12), 5069-5088. doi:10.5194/hess-23-5069-2019
Diamond, J. S., McLaughlin, D. L., Slesak, R. A., & Stovall, A. (2020). Microtopography is a fundamental organizing structure of vegetation and soil chemistry in black ash wetlands. Biogeosciences, 17(4), 901-915. doi:10.5194/bg-17-901-2020
Gannon, J. P., Bailey, S. W., & McGuire, K. J. (2014). Organizing groundwater regimes and response thresholds by soils: A framework for understanding runoff generation in a headwater catchment. Water Resources Research, 50(11), 8403-8419. doi:10.1002/2014wr015498
Gannon, J. P., Bailey, S. W., McGuire, K. J., & Shanley, J. B. (2015). Flushing of distal hillslopes as an alternative source of stream dissolved organic carbon in a headwater catchment. Water Resources Research, 51(10), 8114-8128. doi:10.1002/2015wr016927
Govenor, H., Krometis, L. A. H., & Hession, W. C. (2017). Invertebrate-Based Water Quality Impairments and Associated Stressors Identified through the US Clean Water Act. Environmental Management, 60(4), 598-614. doi:10.1007/s00267-017-0907-3
Lofton, M. E., Leach, T. H., Beisner, B. E., & Carey, C. C. (2020). Relative importance of top‐down vs. bottom‐up control of lake phytoplankton vertical distributions varies among fluorescence‐based spectral groups. Limnology and Oceanography. doi:10.1002/lno.11465
Mantilla-Peña, C. F., Widdowson, M. A., & Boardman, G. D. (2019). Evaluation of in-service residential nutating disc water meter performance. AWWA Water Science, 1(1). doi:10.1002/aws2.1113
Mellor, J., Abebe, L., Ehdaie, B., Dillingham, R., & Smith, J. (2014). Modeling the sustainability of a ceramic water filter intervention. Water Research, 49, 286-299. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2013.11.035
Mellor, J. E., Smith, J. A., Learmonth, G. P., Netshandama, V. O., & Dillingham, R. A. (2012). Modeling the complexities of water, hygiene, and health in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Environmental Science and Technology, 46(24), 13512-13520. doi:10.1021/es3038966
Mogollon, B., Frimpong, E. A., Hoegh, A. B., & Angermeier, P. L. (2016a). An empirical assessment of which inland floods can be managed. Journal of Environmental Management, 167, 38-48. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.10.044
Mogollon, B., Frimpong, E. A., Hoegh, A. B., & Angermeier, P. L. (2016b). Recent changes in stream flashiness and flooding, and effects of flood management in North Carolina and Virginia Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA), doi: 10.1111/1752-1688.12408. doi:10.1111/1752-1688.12408
Mogollón, B., Villamagna, A. M., Frimpong, E. A., & Angermeier, P. L. (2016). Mapping technological and biophysical capacities of watersheds to regulate floods. Ecological Indicators, 61, 483-499. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.09.049
Petrie, J., Diplas, P., Gutierrez, M., & Nam, S. (2013a). Combining fixed- and moving-vessel acoustic Doppler current profiler measurements for improved characterization of the mean flow in a natural river. Water Resources Research, 49(9), 5600-5614. doi:10.1002/wrcr.20396
Petrie, J., Diplas, P., Gutierrez, M., & Nam, S. (2013b). Data evaluation for acoustic Doppler current profiler measurements obtained at fixed locations in a natural river. Water Resources Research, 49(2), 1003-1016. doi:10.1002/wrcr.20112
Petrie, J., Diplas, P., Gutierrez, M., & Nam, S. (2014a). Characterizing the mean flow field in rivers for resource and environmental impact assessments of hydrokinetic energy generation sites. Renewable Energy, 69, 393-401. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2014.03.064
Petrie, J., Diplas, P., Gutierrez, M., & Nam, S. (2014b). Field measurements of mean velocity and boundary shear stress with an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler. River Flow, 355-360.
Roningen, J. M., & Burbey, T. J. (2012). Hydrogeologic controls on lake level: a case study at Mountain Lake, Virginia, USA. Hydrogeology Journal, 20(6), 1149-1167. doi:10.1007/s10040-012-0859-x
Spangler, J. T., Sample, D. J., Fox, L. J., Albano, J. P., & White, S. A. (2019). Assessing nitrogen and phosphorus removal potential of five plant species in floating treatment wetlands receiving simulated nursery runoff. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26(6), 5751-5768. doi:10.1007/s11356-018-3964-0
Spangler, J. T., Sample, D. J., Fox, L. J., Owen, J. S., Jr., & White, S. A. (2019). Data on floating treatment wetland aided nutrient removal from agricultural runoff using two wetland species. Data Brief, 22, 756-761. doi:10.1016/j.dib.2018.12.037
Spangler, J. T., Sample, D. J., Fox, L. J., Owen, J. S., & White, S. A. (2019). Floating treatment wetland aided nutrient removal from agricultural runoff using two wetland species. Ecological Engineering, 127, 468-479. doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2018.12.017
