This Conference is to present ongoing research, to identify how it is linked with the past and ongoing evolution of the field, and to articulate how current work is addressing the challenges of decades to come. The topic and the scope of this public meeting parallels the information collection phase of the ongoing NAS/NRC Committee on Hydrologic Sciences study on ?Opportunities and Challenges in the Hydrologic Sciences? and represents an additional positive aspect.
In a career that has spanned four decades, Steve Burges made significant contributions to the fields of hydrology and water management. As important as his own work was, the advice that he provided to generations of hydrologists arguably influenced the field just as much. Steve was an editor of Water Resources Research (1980-1985) and served as President of the AGU Hydrology Section from 1994-1996. He was the 2001 Langbein Lecturer; the recipient of the Ray K. Linsley Award of the American Institute of Hydrology in 2003 for major contributions to engineering hydrology; and received the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Ven Te Chow Award in 2008. In honor of Steve’s career, the University of Washington hosted symposium in Seattle March 24-26, 2010, titled Hydrology in the 21st Century: Links to the past and a vision for the future. Colleagues, former students, and collaborators assembled from around the world to honor Steve’s diverse and distinguished career. Meeting participants were invited to present and discuss ongoing research, identify how it is linked to the past and will project into the future, and to share personal thoughts on how Steve Burges influenced their professional paths and lives. The symposium consisted of five half-day sessions, each of which began with a keynote talk assessing the evolution of selected sub-disciplines and future directions. Rafael Bras, (College of Engineering, UC Irvine) opened the meeting with a review Thirty years of complexity in hydrology (and thirty years of fun with Steve Burges). The second keynote speaker, John Wilson (New Mexico Tech) continued with reflections on Groundwater science in an evolving interdisciplinary world. The remaining keynote presentations addressed some of the challenges and opportunities of the current trends in hydrologic research: The changing carpet of hydrology: Shifts in magnitude-frequency-duration require new thinking (Efi Foufoula-Georgiou, University of Minnesota); A testbed for integrated water cycle observations :A grand challenge for the community (Eric Wood, Princeton University) and Will restoring wet meadows solve California's water problems?: A curmudgeon's tale (Gordon Grant, USDA Forest Sciences Laboratory, Corvallis). Keynote speakers were followed by oral and poster presentations covering topics related to surface and subsurface hydrology, water management, remote sensing and large scale hydrology, among many others. The event concluded with a talk by Steve Why I am an optimist that reflected on developments in hydrology in the context of the broader socio-political setting during his professional life. The complete symposium program and more details about the event are available online at: www.hydro.washington.edu/burges_symposium; Steve’s talk is available at www.hydro.washington.edu/burges_symposium/video. A special section of Water Resources Research is now complete. Of 29 papers that were submitted to the section, 17 appeared in a special section of the journal (www.agu.org/journals/wr/special_sections.shtml?collectionCode=SBRS1&journalCode=WR). Of the total conference budget of about $37,000, $25,000 came from NSF, with the balance from registration fees and corporate sponsors. NSF funds supported the salary of the conference organizer, room costs, and provided travel support for 11 junior scientists. Total attendance was 130.
