April 9, 2002
AMES, Iowa - Stewart Melvin, professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State University, has been named the director of the Iowa State Water Resources Research Institute (ISWRRI).
This institute conducts research, education and information programs on water-resources issues and problems facing Iowa. The programs are conducted at the three regent universities - Iowa State, Iowa and Northern Iowa. Similar research institutes are located at land-grant universities in each state, plus the District of Colombia, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam. Together they make up the National Institutes for Water Resources. These institutes, created by Congress in 1984, are funded partly from federal sources.
In 2001, ISWRRI received $75,000 in financial support from federal and state sources. Faculty associated with the institute brought in $14 million in external funds for research and outreach programs related to water quality and water resources. Many of these programs focused on Iowa projects.
Melvin has been a faculty member at Iowa State since 1971. He served as interim chair and then as head of the department of agricultural and biosystems engineering from 1994 to 2001. He conducts research on agricultural drainage wells and other water-quality areas related to crop and animal production systems.
Melvin succeeds Ramesh Kanwar, professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, who directed the institute for three years. Kanwar was appointed department head of agricultural and biosystems engineering in 2001.