11:14 a.m., Sept. 3, 2010----Martha Corrozi Narvaez, assistant policy scientist in the Institute for Public Adminstration's Water Resources Agency, will serve as the co-chair for the 2010 American Water Resources Association (AWRA) Annual Conference to be held from Nov. 1-4 in Philadelphia.

THIS STORY

E-mail

Print

Twitter

Narvaez currently serves on AWRA's board of directors and was recently re-elected to serve another three-year term. In 2004 Narvaez founded the Delaware Section of AWRA -- this year's national conference co-host along with the New Jersey Section -- and has served as its first president. She also helped initiate and functions as adviser for the group's Delaware Student Section.

Together, Narvaez and co-chair Kathy Hale, from the New Jersey Water Supply Authority, have planned an exciting week filled with presentations on the latest water resources topics and productive community-building, conversation, and connections.

The University of Delaware will be well represented at the technical sessions throughout this national conference. UD faculty, staff, and students from bioresources engineering, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy, and the Department of Geography will be presenting both poster and oral presentations over the four days.

The week will begin with two field trips -- to the New Jersey Pinelands and the Hagley Museum, an historic powder mill located in Wilmington, Del. There is also an opportunity to participate in a workshop that will help attendees develop evaluation techniques for stream-restoration projects.

The technical program begins with an outstanding plenary session, featuring Mike Richter, former New York Rangers hockey player and current water resources advocate. The program includes 75 concurrent technical sessions. These sessions will feature some of the nearly 400 abstracts that were received, including special sessions and panels. The local-topics tracks will provide an opportunity for Mid-Atlantic water resource professionals to talk about their Delaware River and Chesapeake Bay experiences. Other special topics will include Coastal Experience and Regional Planning tracks.

AWRA conferences are always events where attendees network and interact, and this year is no different. The will be a unique speed-networking session where students can interact with numerous professionals in a brief, yet focused, setting. In between the technical presentations, there will be several opportunities to interact with exhibitors and presenters, including the opening reception, the AWRA Awards Luncheon, and a special evening trip to the Fairmount Water Works. Additional conference networking activities include a photo contest, scavenger hunt, and a 5K Fun Run that will take runners to the top of the Philadelphia Art Museum steps (like the legendary “Rocky”).

Founded in 1964, AWRA is a nonprofit professional association dedicated to the advancement of men and women in water resources management, research, and education. AWRA's membership is multidisciplinary; its diversity is its hallmark. It is the professional home of a wide variety of water resources experts, including engineers, educators, foresters, biologists, ecologists, geographers, managers, regulators, hydrologists, and attorneys.

For more information about and to register for the conference, see the website.