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AZAEP Monthly Meeting
Old Spaghetti Factory
1418 N Central Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Tuesday, March 26, 2019, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM MST
Category: Chapter Events

AZAEP Monthly Meeting in Phoenix

Speaker: David Sampson

Topic: WaterSim: A water policy and educational tool, framework and other projects of the Decision Center for a Desert City at ASU

The Decision Center for a Desert City (DCDC) at Arizona State University (ASU) was established in 2004 with an investment from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through the Decision Making Under Uncertainty (DMUU) program. DCDC’s mission has been to advance knowledge about decision making under uncertainty in the context of water sustainability and urban climate-change adaptation.

DCDC, a research unit of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at ASU, conducts climate, water and decision research, and develops innovative tools to bridge the boundary between scientists and decision makers. With renewed NSF funding in 2010 and 2015, DCDC II and III expanded its research agenda, trained a diverse new group of students, and engaged a wide range of stakeholders in the cooperative production of knowledge and action.

This presentation will talk about past and current DCDC projects, including the water simulation tool and framework known as WaterSim. This water policy and management model is used for water education and outreach, and research by DCDC scientists. As an education tool, two versions of the model are currently touring rural communities in the United States: a state-level model (WaterSim America) can be found in four states while a county-region-level model (WaterSim Arizona) is currently in Sierra Vista, AZ. As an outreach tool, we use the Decision Theater at ASU to showcase the model. DCDC scientists use an in-house application programmer’s interface (API) to the model for advanced scenario planning and analyses.

David Sampson is a Senior Sustainability Scientist with the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability. He creates computer simulation tools to examine pulse triggering of social/ political policies and meteorological forcing’s on probable water futures using advanced scenario analyses. Dr. Sampson created an urban water policy and planning tool for the Phoenix Metropolitan Area known as WaterSim 5, and now WaterSim 6, as open source software programs that can be used by teachers, students, and faculty to examine tradeoffs in water governance and planning strategies for Central Arizona communities. In addition, he was a lead team member for WaterSim America and WaterSim Arizona. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Forest Ecology from Michigan Technological University, a Master’s Degree in Forest Science from Northern Arizona University, and a Ph.D. from Colorado State University in Forest Systems Science.

To RSVP to our monthly meeting, please use the Google Form linked here, or email us at [email protected]

Monthly meetings are $25 for non-members, $20 for members, and $10 for students and includes dinner. You may pay your dinner ticket at the door (check or cash please!), or on our website.