Romanian scholar to discuss climate change and water resources

Contact: Mark Schwerin

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Climate change and how it will affect water resources will be the topic when a Romanian scholar speaks at Western Michigan University as part of the Visiting Scholars and Artists Program.

Dr. Liliana Zaharia, professor of meteorology and hydrology and director of the Center for Water Resources and Water Related Risks Management in the Department of Geography at the University of Bucharest, will present a seminar at 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, in 2119 Wood Hall. Her seminar, titled "Climate Change's Impacts on Water Resources and Adaptation Strategies: Case Studies in Romania," is free and open to the public.

Liliana Zaharia

Zaharia's research specialty is in the field of continental hydrology, water resources management and water-related risks. She has published more than 150 scientific books, articles and abstracts. She directs and coordinates multiple national and international research projects and is in charge of faculty exchange and research programs with the universities of Lille, Paris, Le Mans, Montpellier, Zagreb and Malaga.

Zaharia is an associate editor of the journal Analele Universitatii Bucaresti geography series, a member of the director's council of the Doctoral School Simion Mehedinti and a member of the director's council of the University of Bucharest. She is well-known in both the Romanian and European water resources community and has been invited for lectures at multiple institutions, including the University of Paris 7 and the University of Maine in France as well as Lausanne University in Switzerland.

Visiting Scholars and Artists Program

Zaharia's visit to WMU is through the Visiting Scholars and Artists Program. Established in 1960, the Visiting Scholars and Artists Program significantly contributes to the intellectual life of WMU and the community. The program provides funds for academic units to bring distinguished scholars and artists to campus. These visitors meet with faculty and students in their fields and address the community at large. Since the program began, it has supported more 600 visits by scholars and artists representing more than 60 academic disciplines.

Zaharia's visit is co-sponsored by the Department of Geography Lucia Harrison Endowment Fund, the Institute of Environment and Sustainability, and the Department of Geosciences.

For more information, contact Dr. Chansheng He, WMU professor of geography, at (269) 387-3425 or chansheng.he@wmich.edu.

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