Bezbaruah, Achintya

Dr. Bezbaruah is an associate professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at North Dakota State University. He received his Ph.D. degree (2002) in Civil Engineering from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Prior to joining NDSU in 2005, he worked on groundwater remediation and modeling at URS Corp (now AECOM) in Omaha, NE. Since joining North Dakota State University, he has established a new research track on environmental nanotechnology.

Dr. Geza Nisrani is an Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at South Dakota Mines – an engineering, science, and technology university. Dr. Nisrani received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Environment and Water Resources Engineering. He worked as a research faculty and is affiliated with the Colorado School of Mines with a focus in watershed modeling and development of decision support tools for water resources management. Currently at South Dakota School of Mines, he does research in water resource management and teaches courses in hydrology and water resources.

Dr. Hargiss is a professor and director of the School of Natural Resource Sciences at North Dakota State University. She has degrees in Science Education and received her Ph.D. degree in 2009 from North Dakota State University in Natural Resources Management. Dr. Hargiss main research focuses on water. It started with wetland ecology and water quality of the Prairie Pothole Region but has expanded to include water use, tile drainage, harmful algal blooms, environmental education, and the effects of energy development on natural resources.

Dr. Jia obtained her Ph.D. degree from the University of Arizona. She is a registered professional engineer in North Dakota and serves as a full professor at the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, North Dakota State University. With a keen focus on water resource management, Dr. Jia directs the North Dakota Water Resources Research Institute. Her extensive teaching portfolio covers courses in natural resource management systems, drainage engineering, wetland design, and controlled environment agriculture. Renowned from her research, she has addressed critical water issues in the region, including floods, drainage, and droughts. Currently, Dr. Jia pioneers the use of advanced technologies and mathematical algorithms to automate irrigation and drainage water management.

Mr. Woodward has 22 years of engineering and project management experience in various groundwater and watershed management programs and projects. He is currently a Senior Water Resources Engineer at HDR Engineering in Omaha, Nebraska. Mr. Woodward’s professional positions prior to HDR include the Papio-Missouri River NRD and Olsson. While working as the Groundwater Management Engineer at the Papio National Resources District (NRD), he gained valuable insight into Nebraska’s local geology and aquifers, surface water streams and rivers, and the state’s unique approach to integrated water management. Mr. Woodward attained a B.S. degree in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and later received a graduate certificate in Geographic Information Science from the University of Nebraska – Omaha. He is a professional civil engineer in Nebraska and a Certified Floodplain Manager through the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM). Mr. Woodward has also served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Nebraska-Omaha for the past seven years, teaching courses in Water Resources and Nebraska Natural Resources Management. Mr. Woodward has lived in Omaha, Nebraska since 2002. He is married to a kindergarten teacher and has two girls and one boy. His children’s hobbies are his full-time hobbies, including baseball, football, softball, and dance.