AIH was founded 40 years ago in 1981 by Sandor Csallany, Alex Zaporozec, and Roman Kanivetsky as a non-profit scientific and educational organization that certifies the competence and ethical conduct of professionals in the field of hydrology. AIH’s goal is to promote hydrology as a science and profession and to help protect public interest from non-professional practices. This still holds true today
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The AIH Executive Committee (EC) recently held Day 2 of its Annual Meeting virtually on March 21. The EC heard updates from the breakout groups that were formed regarding member engagement, collaboration with other organizations, collaboration with universities, and public relations and media strategies. The EC also finalized and approved the annual budget for the coming year. Keep an eye out for several new, exciting initiatives and updates in the coming year!
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AIH’s Executive Committee kicked off its Annual Meeting during Pi Day! A key outcome of the day was the establishment of an AIH Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee that will be composed of EC members and AIH members. Breakout groups will convene over next week to address key initiative areas related to member engagement, collaboration with other organizations, collaboration with universities, and public relations and media strategies. Strategies and tactics for addressing the initiatives will be the focus when the Executive Committee reconvenes for the Annual Meeting Day 2 on March 21, 2021.
The American Institute of Hydrology is dedicated to enhancing and strengthening the standing of hydrology as a science and a profession. In 2021 our focus will be to dive even deeper into membership engagement, legislation and advocacy, diversity, equity and inclusion, our public relations and media strategies as well as our collaboration and partnerships with other organizations.
Jamil S. Ibrahim, President of the AIH, gave a presentation on the benefits of certification as Professional Hydrologist (PH) or Hydrologic Technician (HT) at last week’s GRA Future of Water Conference. The presentation consisted of 19 participants and concluded with an informative Q&A.
The American Institute of Hydrology (AIH) recognizes its members for outstanding accomplishments in the fields of groundwater, surface water, water quality, and institute development. These awards are named after prominent scientists and engineers, who have made numerous lasting contributions to the hydrologic sciences. AIH Awards include:
The nomination packet for each award should contain the following:
The supporting letter writers should state briefly how they know the nominee and describe why the nominee is deserving of the award. Please submit your nomination to admin@aihydrology.org by Tuesday, March 16, 2021. Award winners will be notified and the awards will be presented at an upcoming conference to be determined later in the year.
The Charles Vernon (C.V.) Theis Award was established in 1986, to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions in groundwater hydrology. Charles V. Theis graduated with a PhD from the University of Cincinnati in June 1929 and made numerous contributions to the field of groundwater science throughout his life.
The Ray K. Linsley Award was established in 1986, to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions in surface water hydrology. Dr. Linsley made numerous contributions to surface water hydrology and was the principal author of the textbook Applied Hydrology, published by McGraw-Hill in 1949. He directed the PhD dissertations of 35 students at Stanford University covering research on mechanics of overland flow, rainfall synthesis, stochastic hydrology, and modeling of the hydrologic cycle. These efforts led to the development of the Stanford Watershed Model, a state-of-the-art tool of hydrologists worldwide.
The Robert G. Wetzel Award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the field of water quality. This award was dedicated in 2006, to the family of the late Robert G. Wetzel. Dr. Wetzel was a true leader in the field of freshwater science. His thoughts and brilliant synthesis of all aspects of lakes and streams are included in more than 30 books and 400+ publications including the definitive college textbook of this field, Limnology.
The AIH Founders Award was established in 1990, to recognize individuals who have provided outstanding, long and dedicated service to the Institute. It was established to honor the AIH founders Sandor Csallany, Alex Zaporozec, and Roman Kanivetsky. The award is given at the discretion of the AIH Executive Board to a member in good standing.
Congratulations to Salam Murtada on his election to the Vice President of Institute Development position! His professional biography below provides some background on your newly elected AIH leader.
VP of Institute Development
Salam Murtada is a Professional Hydrologist, Professional Engineer and Certified Floodplain Manager with over 20 years of experience in the areas of natural system restoration, H&H modeling, groundwater protection and wastewater treatment and disposal. He has served as AIH’s Treasurer since January of 2020. Salam is currently a Floodplain Hydrologist with the State of Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Ecological and Water Resources. He utilizes hydrologic models to assess land use changes and floodplain evaluation, as well as performing floodplain ordinance reviews. Salam received his B.S. from the University of Texas at Austin and his M.S. from West Virginia University, all in the field of engineering. He is excited to assist with expanding the membership base and promoting AIH through other technical organizations and affiliations.
I am thrilled to address our members in my first message as President of the American Institute of Hydrology (AIH). While the new calendar year does not bring the much-needed renewal that I, and I am sure most of you, thirst for – we do have a lot to be excited and enthusiastic about for AIH in 2021. We have a fantastic leadership and management team, along with strong priorities and ambitious initiatives for advancement of AIH. As AIH President, my priorities include:
Over the next few months, I will post messages that delve into more detail for each of these priorities and share status of the many initiatives that our all-volunteer Executive Committee and additional volunteers are working on. In the meantime, I encourage you to either reach out to me directly or contact our management office if interested in taking on a volunteer role to address either of the above priorities and/or AIH’s goal and mission.
Additionally, as I write this message on Martin Luther King Jr Day of Service, I’d like to remind our members to consider what we should do to help our communities advance social justice, racial equity, and inclusion related to hydrology and water resources.
In collaboration with Sarah Erck, our Executive Director, our management team, and Executive Committee, we are looking forward to next steps for advancing AIH’s goals and mission. If there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to contact me, Sarah, our management office, or either of our EC members – we are here to serve you!
Cheers.
– Jamil S. Ibrahim
AIH honored 3 awardees for their professional achievements and contributions to the field of hydrology at last week’s AWRA Virtual Conference.
