GSA Division Names UA Hydrogeologist Distinguished Lecturer

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A University of Alabama scientist, who is internationally recognized for his contributions to understanding and modeling of groundwater contaminants, has been named a distinguished lecturer by a division of the Geological Society of America.

Dr. Chunmiao Zheng, a professor of geological sciences at UA who also has expertise in groundwater sustainability issues, has been named by GSA’s Hydrogeology Division as its 2009 Birdsall-Dreiss Distinguished Lecturer.

This lectureship began in 1978 and has provided travel funds for outstanding scientists working in the field of hydrogeology to visit other institutions and give talks on their research. Hydrogeology is the branch of geological sciences concerned with water and water-related issues.

Zheng will present, at the request of interested institutions, one of two lectures for audiences with general interest in hydrogeology and water resources. Previous lecturers appointed to this slot have typically given 40 to 50 talks, mainly in the U.S. and Canada, but also in Europe, Asia and Australia.

One of Zheng’s lectures is titled “Understanding Solute Transport in Extremely Heterogeneous Porous Media: Lessons Learned from 25 Years of Research at the MADE Site.” This presentation focuses on a field site at the Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi, known as the Macrodispersion Experiment, or MADE, site. Since the 1980s, field data from this site have been used extensively by researchers around the world to explore complex contaminant transport phenomena in highly heterogeneous aquifers.

The other lecture is titled “Will China Run out of Water?” It examines that country’s water scarcity problems amid unprecedented economic growth. The presentation draws on Zheng’s recent research in the North China Plain and the Ordos Basin in western China.

Zheng received his bachelor’s degree in geology from Chengdu University of Technology, in China, in 1983, and his doctorate in hydrogeology with a minor in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1988.

He has been a professor in the department of geological sciences in UA’s College of Arts and Sciences since 1993. He is also a visiting professor and founding director of the Center for Water Research at Peking University in China. The primary areas of his research are contaminant transport, groundwater management, and hydrologic modeling.

Zheng is developer of the MT3D/MT3DMS series of contaminant transport models used in more than 100 countries and co-author of the textbook “Applied Contaminant Transport Modeling, Second Edition,” published by John Wiley & Sons. He has received several honors, including the John Hem Excellence in Science and Education Award from the National Ground Water Association.

To request a visit to an educational institution, contact Chunmiao Zheng, department of geological sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 or phone, 205/348-0579, or e-mail, czheng@ua.edu. The deadline for requests is Dec. 15. GSA will pay transportation expenses, and the host institution will provide local accommodations.

The mission of the Geological Society of America is to advance the geosciences, to enhance the professional growth of its 21,500 members, and to promote the geosciences in the service of humankind. GSA provides geoscientists from all sectors – academic, government and industry – with a vehicle for expressing core professional values of science, stewardship and service.