Richard N. Palmer, PhD, PE
Professor, Water Resources Engineering and Hydrology
Director, Water Resources Management and Drought Planning Group
Principal, Climate Impacts Group

email: palmer@u.washington.edu
Office: (206) 685-2658
Fax: (206) 685-9185
UW-CEE webpage: http://www.ce.washington.edu/people/faculty/bios/palmer_r.html

Bio
Research
Academics
Short CV

Bio

Richard Palmer is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Washington, where he has taught since 1979. His primary areas of interest are in the application of structured planning approaches to water resources. This includes impacts of climate change on water resources, drought planning, real-time water resource management, and the application of decision support to civil engineering management problems. He developed the field of “shared vision modeling” in water resources planning and pioneered the use of “virtual drought exercises.”

Dr. Palmer received his Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University in 1979, his Master's of Science in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University in 1973. He received the “Service to the Profession” Award from the Water Resources Planning and Management Division of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in 1998. He was awarded the “Certificate of Recognition” for his editorial services to the Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management of ASCE in 1997, for which he was editor from 1993-1997. He was awarded the Huber Award for Research Excellence by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in 1992. This honor was based upon his innovative application of simulation and optimization echniques to issues in water resource management. He received ecognition for the Best Practice-Oriented Paper of the Year in the Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management by the ASCE in 1989. During his Ph.D. research he was a member of a team at Johns Hopkins University and the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin recognized as a finalist by ASCE for Engineering Achievement of the Year in 1983. In 2006, he received from ASCE the Julian Hinds Award for his contributions to water resources planning and his research related to the impacts of climate change on water resources.

Short Curriculum Vitae

EDUCATION

Ph.D. Environmental Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, 1979.
M.S. Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 1973.
B.S. Civil Engineering, Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas, 1972.

POSITIONS HELD

1995 - present: Professor (Associate Professor (9/85-9/90) and Assistant Professor (8/79-9/85), University of Washington, Department of Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering and Sciences Program. Teaching responsibilities in the field of Water Resource Management, Optimization, Simulation, Systems Analysis and Expert Systems.

1997 : Intergovernmental Personal Assignment, (January-March, 1977) Institute for Water Resources, US Army of Engineers, Ft. Belvoir, Virginia.

1987 - 1988: Visiting Scholar, Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes, Spain, and Visiting Senior Research Fellow, Department of Civil Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland.

1975 - 1979: Postdoctoral Fellow/Research Assistant/Ph.D. Candidate, The Johns Hopkins University, Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering. Research and teaching in Water Resources and Systems Analysis.

1973 - 1977: Hydrologist, Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA; Environmental Engineer, Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, Bethesda, MD; Environmental Engineer, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. Studies of non-point pollution, water quality trends, waste water treatment, water quality modeling, and coal slurry pipelines.

REGISTRATION

Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Washington, Registration No. 0021154

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

American Society of Civil Engineers, American Water Resources Association

CURRENT RESEARCH INTERESTS

Water Resources Planning, Drought Management, Expert Systems, Risk Analysis, Optimization and Simulation Modeling, Water Quality Modeling, Instream Flow Requirements

HONORS, AWARDS, AND FELLOWSHIPS

Certificate of Recognition, American Society of Civil Engineers, Editing Excellence, 1997

Huber Award for Research Excellence, American Society of Civil Engineers, 1992

Best Practice-Oriented Paper of the Year, American Society of Civil Engineers, Water Resources Planning and Management Division, 1988-1989

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Fellowship for Study in Spain, 1987-1988

Member of Research Team that was a Finalist in American Society of Civil Engineers for Engineering Achievement of the Year, 1983.Johns Hopkins University Fellowship, 1975-1977

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Traineeship, 1972-1973

HONORARY SOCIETIES

Chi Epsilon
Tau Beta Pi
Phi Kappa Phi

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Wiley, M.W., and Palmer, R.N. (2006) Estimating the Impacts and Uncertainty of Climate Change on a Municipal Water Supply System, ASCE Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, accepted for publication, August 2007.

Battin, J., Wiley, M.W., Ruckelshaus, M.H., Palmer, R.N., Korb, E., Bartz, K.K., and Imaki, H., (2006) Projected impacts of future climate change on salmon habitat restoration actions in a Puget Sound river, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104:6720-6725, 2007

Palmer, R.N. The Confluence of a Career: Virtual Droughts, Shared-Vision Planning, and Climate Change, ASCE Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 133 (4), 287-376. 2007.

VanRheenen, N. T., A.W. Wood, A.F. Hamlet, R.N. Palmer, and D.P. Lettenmaier, Potential implications of PCM climate change scenarios for Sacramento - San Joaquin River Basin hydrology and water resources, Climatic Change, 62(1-3), 257-281, 2004.

Payne, J. T., A.W. Wood, A.F. Hamlet, R.N. Palmer, and D.P. Lettenmaier, Mitigating the effects of climate change on the water resources of the Columbia River basin, Climatic Change, 62(1-3), 233-256, 2004.

Christensen, N. S., A.W. Wood, D.P. Lettenmaier, and R.N. Palmer, Effects of climate change on the hydrology and water resources of the Colorado River basin, Climatic Change, 62(1-3), 337-363, 2004.

Jeong, S. M., J.H. Ryu, J.H. Lee, and R.N. Palmer, (2003) Development of a shared vision model for optimal water distribution, Korean Society of Civil Engineers, 23(3B), 191-199.

VanRheenen, N.T., R.N. Palmer, and R.N. Hahn, (2003) Evaluating potential climate change impacts on water resource systems operations: Case studies of Portland, Oregon and the Central Valley, California, Water Resources Update, Issue 124, 35-50.

Palmer, R.N., A.G. Reese, and S.E. Nelligan-Droan, (2001) Tied by Water, Civil Engineering, Vol. 71, No. 2, 50-53.

Harmsen, P., R.N. Palmer, and G. Turkiyyah, (2001) Development and application of an expert system for evaluation of scour and stream stability, Civil and Environmental Systems, 18 (3).

Hahn, M.A., R.N. Palmer, M.S. Merrill, and A.B. Lukas, (2002) An expert system for prioritizing inspection of sewers, ASCE Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, Vol. 128, No. 2, 121-129.

Updated August 17, 2007 05/12/2005