By Stevin Westcott, Press Officer, Southern Research Station
Devendra Amatya, a Forest Service research hydrologist in South Carolina, recently learned that he received a Fulbright award to share his expertise with others in Poland.
"I am honored to receive the award and look forward to working again with some of Poland's experts in the field of hydrology," said Devendra.
The Fulbright Program is a U.S. government-sponsored international, educational exchange program designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The program gives participants the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Program participants are chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential.
From November through December of this year, Amatya will train staff and graduate students at the University of Krakow on forest hydrology and water management models. In addition, he will complete a research project that uses American and Polish models to evaluate hydrology and hydraulics of culverts and bridges for water and flow management on the Turkey Creek watershed at the Francis Marion National Forest in South Carolina.
"In January and February of 2011, I will be at the Warsaw Agricultural University testing a hydrologic model on the second largest bog in Poland and compare the results to another groundwater model also developed in the United States."
Besides training university staff and students in Warsaw on forest hydrology models, Amatya's work will include testing a hydrodynamic modeling tool, developed in Poland, on the Turkey Creek watershed riparian zone.
Devendra conducts research in the Southern Research Station's Center for Forested Wetlands Research in Cordesville, SC. He received his Ph.D. from in the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department at North Carolina State University. He holds master's degrees in Civil Engineering (hydrology and hydrotechnical construction) from Duke University and Russia's Lumumba University, respectively.