A billboard near Roosevelt Dam proclaimed in the 1960s: “Arizona Grows Where Water Flows.” But growth and the control of water to support it have never been simple uncontested endeavors.
Brown Bag Seminar Series
Bring your lunch and join us for a range of presentations on water-related topics of interest.
Access to the WRRC’s Brown Bag series now routinely includes offsite listeners through live webcasts via Goto-Webinar and in-house video coverage.
The slide presentations of most seminars are also available for viewing on the website.
Get updates on upcoming Brown Bag Seminars
Upcoming Brown Bag Seminars
Previous Brown Bag Seminars
September 18, 2019
Brown Bag
Water and Sustainability in Arizona: A Mixed Record
A billboard near Roosevelt Dam proclaimed in the 1960s: “Arizona Grows Where Water Flows.” But growth and the control of water to support it have never been simple uncontested endeavors.
September 10, 2019
Brown Bag
The Ecology of Water Harvesting - LIVE ONLY, NO WEBINAR
Water harvest systems are common in residences throughout Tucson, but little work has been done to explore how these systems impact ecological processes.
April 24, 2019
Brown Bag
Brown Bag Seminar - Urban Desert Landscapes: Creating Climate Resilience One Tree at a Time
Tree and urban landscapes provide an opportunity for every citizen to contribute to climate resilience through informed plant selection and sustainable management practices. The University of Arizona Campus Arboretum was established to guide science-based urban tree stewardship and to advance conservation best practices for campus and communities throughout the state.
April 22, 2019
Brown Bag
Brown Bag Seminar Big Chino Valley Pumped Storage Project
The Big Chino Valley Pumped Storage project is a 2,000MW, 10-hour long duration greenfield pumped storage project being developed in northern Arizona. This project will help integrate the projected increase in renewable generation onto the grid in the desert southwest region of the United States in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Project is investing a great deal of effort to understand the impacts of withdrawing groundwater for the reservoirs in order to put a mitigation plan in place that will result in a net positive for the water resources and the community in the area.
March 28, 2019
Brown Bag
Brown Bag Seminar - Testing the capability of freshwater algae to remove lead (Pb) from water and A case study on the Santa Cruz River: Can treated wastewater support desert fishes?
This Brown Bag will feature presentations by UA students who received research grants in 2018 through the WRRC from the Water Resources Research Act, Section 104(b) grant program. This program fosters regionally important research on water and related issues and encourages students and young scientists to pursue careers in water resources.
March 19, 2019
Brown Bag
Project Harvest: Be Informed. Grow Smarter.
Speakers: Mónica Ramírez-Andreotta, Director/PI, Flor Sandoval, Co-PI/SERI Senior Program Manager, AJ Moses, SWES PhD student, Jesus Solis-Leon, SWES MS student, Norma Villagomez-Marquez, SWES PhD student, Leona Davis, College of Education MS student, Dorsey Kaufmann, School of Art MFA candidate.
March 14, 2019
Brown Bag
Stable isotopes in precipitation and meteoric waters: Investigating the North American monsoon across the Four Corners region
The North American monsoon (NAM) is a significant summertime feature of climate in the southwestern United States; NAM is an important contributor to total annual precipitation in the Four Corners region. For the northern extent of NAM, an observational spatiotemporal study of this substantial precipitation contributor has been understudied. Little is known about source contributors to NAM in the Four Corners region. Characteristic details about NAM and its relationship to associated water resources can be better understood using oxygen and hydrogen stable isotopes.
February 20, 2019
Brown Bag
The Occurrence and Fate of PFAS (Per-/Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances) in the Environment
The use of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in numerous industrial, commercial, and military applications has resulted in their widespread distribution in the environment. Research reports have demonstrated that PFAS are present in the atmosphere, surface water, sediment, soil, groundwater, treated wastewater, biosolids, landfill leachate, and drinking water. This presentation will briefly discuss the nature, sources, and properties of PFAS, their transport, and fate in the environment, with example case studies.
February 13, 2019
Brown Bag
An Abbreviated History and Overview of AI with Example Applications to Hydrology
A short historical overview of Artificial Intelligence (AI), how it came into existence, and its evolution from its inception to today, will be presented. This includes the seminal "Turing Machine", the original two AI schools of thought, the so-called AI winter, its rebirth in 1986, and recent renaissance with Deep Learning. This will be followed by two illustrative hydrological examples. reality at a commercial scale. The presentation will be concluded with thoughts regarding present-day applications and requirements for AI in water management.