The North Dakota Water Resources Research Institute announced its Graduate Research Fellowship recipients for 2014-15. Fellowships ranging from $2,000 to $9,500 were awarded to eight doctoral and seven master’s degree students conducting research in water resources topics at NDSU and UND.

A panel of state water resource professionals reviewed the applications and selected the fellows and award amounts. The students, with the guidance of their advisers, prepared the proposals.

The general criteria used for proposal evaluation include qualifications of the students, scientific merit, originality of research, research related to state and/or region, and extent of regional, state or local collaboration and/or co-funding. Regional, state or local collaboration or co-funding was encouraged.

The 2014-15 fellows, their advisers, and fellowship research projects are:

• Dasuni Arachchige, geography, UND; Gregory Vandeberg, associate professor of geography: “Flash Flood Potential Mapping Using GIS and Flash Flood Potential Index (FFPI) in Turtle River and Forest River Watersheds, North Dakota”
• Abbie Beaudry, civil engineering, UND; Howe Lim, associate professor of civil engineering: “Nutrient Loading Reduction and Water Quality of Best Management Practices in Grand Forks, N.D.
• Derrick Deering, civil engineering, UND; Lim: “Three Dimensional Analyses of Flow Dynamics and Chlorination of Ground Water Supply Reservoir in a Cold Region”
• Heather Dose, soil science, NDSU; Ann Marie Fortuna, assistant professor of soil health: “Where is fertilizer nitrogen going, up in smoke or down the pipe? An assessment of nitrogen transformations and water quality impacts on a tile drained sodic soil”
• Prosper Gbolo, geology and geologic engineering, UND; Phillip Gerla, associate professor of geology: “The Cycling and Fate of Phosphorus at an Abandoned Feedlot”
• Noah Habtezion, civil and environmental engineering, NDSU; Xuefeng Chu, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering: “Quantification of Spatio-temporal Distribution of Surface Ponding and the Related Dynamic Processes”
• Yangbo He, soil science, NDSU; Thomas DeSutter, associate professor of soil science: “Sodic soil characterization and management on subsurface drainage”
• Mohammad Hossain, civil and environmental engineering, NDSU; Achintya Bezbaruah, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering: “Biopolymers for Phosphate Removal from Eutrophic Lakes”
• Kelsey Kolars, agricultural and biosystems engineering, NDSU; Xinhua Jia, associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering: “Development of a Model for Subsurface Drainage and Subirrigation Water Management”
• Navaratnam Leelaruban, civil and environmental engineering, NDSU; G. Padmanabhan, professor of civil and environmental engineering: “A Study of the Spatial and Temporal Characteristics of Drought and its Impact in North Dakota”
• Debjit Roy, agricultural and biosystems engineering, NDSU; Jia: “Snowmelt water infiltration into frozen soil in Red River of the North Basin”
• Jingyi Sun, agricultural and biosystems engineering, NDSU; Halis Simsek, assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering: “Evaluation of Bioavailable Dissolved Organic Nitrogen Using Various Algal Species”
• Mitchell Swanson, civil and environmental engineering, NDSU; Eakalak Khan, professor of civil and environmental engineering: “The Role of Algal Species on Phosphorus Bioavailability”
• Anthony Wamono, agricultural and biosystems engineering, NDSU; Dean Steele, associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering: “Effects of calcium based surface amendments on the hydraulic conductivity and selected physical properties of subsurface drained sodic-saline soils”
• Lucas Wandrie, biological sciences, NDSU; Wendy Reed, associate professor of biological sciences: “Bird-mediated transport of toxic heavy metals and selenium from marine and terrestrial sources to freshwater wetlands in North Dakota”

Funding for the fellowship program comes primarily from the annual base grant provided to the Water Resources Research Institute by the US Geological Survey and an additional support of 15 percent of the base grant comes from the North Dakota State Water Commission. The institute is one of 54 located in the land-grant institution of each state and territory under the umbrella organization of National Institutes for Water Resources.

For more information, contact, G. Padmanabhan, institute director and NDSU professor of civil engineering at 701-231-7043, g.padmanabhan@ndsu.edu or visit www.ndsu.edu/wrri.

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.