UA’s Zheng Wins National Association’s Top Science Award

WESTERVILLE, Ohio — Dr. Chunmiao Zheng, a professor of hydrogeology at The University of Alabama, will receive the 2013 M. King Hubbert Award from the National Ground Water Association for major science contributions to the knowledge of groundwater.

The award will be presented in December at the 2013 association’s Groundwater Expo and annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn., according to a news release from the association.

Among Zheng’s many achievements in groundwater science is the development of the MT3D/MT3DMS contaminant transport model, which has become an industry standard since the 1990s.

In 1993, Zheng joined UA as an assistant professor in the department of geological sciences and, in 2010, he was named the George Lindahl III Endowed Professor of Hydrogeology.

He also is a professor and director of the Center for Water Research at Peking University in Beijing, China. Prior to his UA hiring, Zheng worked as a hydrogeologist at S.S. Papadopulos & Associates Inc. in Bethesda, Md. He received his doctorate in hydrogeology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The National Ground Water Association, a nonprofit organization composed of U.S. and international groundwater professionals — contractors, equipment manufacturers, suppliers, scientists, and engineers — is dedicated to advancing groundwater knowledge. The association’s vision is to be the leading groundwater association that advocates the responsible development, management and use of water.

UA’s department of geological sciences is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.