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Second wave of WARI scholars begins to arrive
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The Water Advanced Research and Innovation Fellowship Program (WARI) is blossoming into its second year.
This year’s class features 11 scholars from some of India’s most prestigious research institutions, including the following nine who have arrived on campus thus far: Jahangeer Tomar, Ashish Kumar, Swati Suman, Anurag Kumar, Ram Chavan and Omkar Gaonkar (interns) and Drs. Riddhi Singh, Rehana Shaik and Paromita Chakraborty (fellows). The remaining two fellows, Drs. Richa Kothari and Selvakumar Kumar, will arrive later this month. Learn more.
WARI’s reciprocal exchange of University of Nebraska-Lincoln scholars to India will begin this summer. Two UNL PhD students, David Gosselin (Dept. of Political Science) and Zablon Adane (Dept. of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences), were recently named scholarship winners and comprise the inaugural class’s first cohort.
WARI is a partnership between UNL, the Nebraska Water Center, the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute, the government of India's Department of Science and Technology and the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum. It fosters cooperation between students and scientists from Nebraska and India by promoting water research and professional development, building long-term R&D linkages and collaborations.
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Dual degree master's program for irrigation, agriculture expertise
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In partnership with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in Delft, The Netherlands, DWFI offers a dual master's degree program for those seeking to gain knowledge and expertise in water management for agriculture. The Advanced Water Management for Food Production program allows students from around the world to gain valuable insights from leading researchers and hands-on field experience. The effort is led by UNL Biological Systems Engineering Professor Emeritus Dean Eisenhauer. Learn more about the program from Mumba Mwape of Zambia, a recent graduate of the program.
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Knowledge sharing and networking | Recent events and meetings
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8th World Water Forum - North American processing event
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On June 5, Communications and PR Director Molly Nance participated in Sharing Water, a North Americas regional planning process event for the 8th World Water Forum in Washington, D.C., USA. The Coca-Cola Company, World Wildlife Fund and World Water Council hosted a day of panel discussions, high-level conversations and networking to explore water challenges and solutions. The event outputs will help shape the thematic agenda for forum, set to take place in Brazil in March. DWFI is co-leading the water for food track with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
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Water policy discussions - World Bank and Aspen-Nicholas events
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Brozovic also participated in the 2017 Aspen-Nicholas Water Forum: Deepening Groundwater Sustainability, May 30-June 2 in Aspen, Colorado, USA. The annual forum is a collaborative initiative between the Aspen Institute and Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, gathering 50 thought leaders to discuss domestic water challenges in the 21st century.
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Remote sensing and irrigation discussions in Latin America
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Director of Research Christopher Neale presented at the Brazilian Symposium on Remote Sensing in Sao Paulo May 29.
The session focused on applications of remote sensing and agrometeorological data in agriculture, ecosystems and water resources.
Neale also served on an expert panel hosted by the Instituto Nacional de Recursos Hidráulicos in the Dominican Republic on May 25 (pictured). He shared a Nebraska perspective on the financial and operational aspects of irrigation systems.
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Regents unanimously approve Nebraska Food for Health Center
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The Nebraska Food for Health Center, a more than $40 million initiative to improve the lives of people around the world, was unanimously approved June 1 by the Board of Regents. The multidisciplinary center brings together the University of Nebraska's strengths in agriculture and medicine to help develop hybrid crops and foods to improve the quality of life of those affected by critical diseases.
To launch the center, the Raikes Foundation of Seattle, co-founded by former DWFI Board Chair Jeff Raikes, committed a $3 million gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation, which includes a $1 million challenge grant. In recognition of Raikes’ service as chief executive officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Gates Foundation also made a $2 million gift in support of the center. Learn more.
Pictured: Andrew Benson, professor of food science and technology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will be the first director of the Nebraska Food for Health Center.
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Kearney campus visitors learn about DWFI
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On June 2, DWFI welcomed visitors from the University of Nebraska at Kearney's Summer Student Research Program. Staff gave them an overview of DWFI's mission and current projects. The UNK program supports undergraduate students’ independent research and scholarly activity for 10 weeks each summer.
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Faculty Fellows in the news
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Editorial: Global agriculture making progress against poverty
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The Omaha World Herald highlights the University of Nebraska's ag-science and natural resources programs, including the National Drought Mitigation Center, and their efforts to strengthen agriculture in developing countries. Learn more.
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Banerjee to chair AAEA Committee on Women in Ag Economics
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Faculty Fellow Simanti Banerjee, assistant professor of agricultural economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has been elected chair of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association’s Committee on Women in Agricultural Economics. Banerjee’s research deals with analyzing coordination within groups, inter-personal bargaining and the impact of information and social networks on human decision-making in a variety of contexts. Learn more.
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Book celebrates Nebraska's rich agricultural history
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DWFI is pleased to help sponsor the American Doorstop Project's new book, "A History of Nebraska Agriculture: A Life Worth Living," written by Jody L. Lamp and Melody Dobson. The book launched June 7 in celebration of Nebraska’s 150th year of statehood. Learn more.
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Nebraska Water Center updates
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NRDs team with local producers to improve groundwater quality
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Northeast Nebraska’s Upper and Lower Elkhorn, Lewis and Clark and Lower Niobrara Natural Resources Districts have teamed to help local producers increase nutrient efficiency through cost shares and outreach to improve groundwater quality in parts of three counties that have been battling contamination from nitrogen fertilizer.
Learn more.
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Lameck Odhiambo
Irrigation Specialist, Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute
Research Associate Professor, Water Resources Engineering, Department of Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
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Lameck Odhiambo’s expertise is in irrigation engineering and water management. He works jointly with DWFI, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Department of Biological Systems Engineering and the Office of Global Engagement within the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. He joined DWFI as irrigation specialist in March 2017 and has been at UNL since 2008.
Odhiambo studies evapotranspiration measurements and modeling, develops deficit irrigation strategies, evaluates tillage practices on crop water-yield relationships and uses water metering in irrigation management. He also works with small-scale farmers to develop and implement sustainable crop production under shared center pivot irrigation systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Originally from Kenya, Odhiambo finds it rewarding to work on projects with Africa’s smallholder farmers that have high potential to improve their socio-economic well-being through improved crop production using modern irrigation technologies.
Odhiambo holds a technical science doctorate in irrigation engineering and water management from the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, a master’s degree in soil and water engineering from Seoul National University in the Republic of Korea and a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the University of Nairobi, Kenya.
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The Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska was founded in 2010 by the Robert B. Daugherty Foundation to address the global challenge of achieving food security with less stress on water resources through improved water management in agricultural and food systems. The institute is committed to ensuring a water and food secure world while maintaining the use of water for other human and environmental needs.
waterforfood.nebraska.edu | (+1) 402.472.5145
The Nebraska Water Center, established by Congress in 1964, focuses on helping the University of Nebraska become an international leader in water research, teaching, extension and outreach by facilitating programs that will result in UNL becoming a premiere institution in the study of agricultural and domestic water use.
watercenter.unl.edu | (+1) 402.472.3305
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