Jayantha Obeysekera ('Obey')
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Education & Experience
Education                                                                                                                                                        

College or University              Dept. and/or Major                     Dates Attended                        Degree

Colorado State University      Civil Engineering/Hydrology    1978-1982                               Ph.D.

University of Roorkee             Hydrology & Water Res.          1977-1978                               M.Eng

University of Roorkee             Hydrology & Water Res.          1976-1977                               P.G. Diploma

University of Sri Lanka            Civil Engineering                     1970-1975                               B.Sc (Hons.)

Professional Experience:                                                                                                                              

Expertise in Hydrologic Modeling, Water Resources, Climate change, Sea Level Rise (global, regional adjustments) and modeling of extreme sea levels

Dates                                      Organization                                                Position

2011 to Present     Department of Geosciences                                           Research Affiliate Professor, Florida Atlantic University

2011 to Present     South Florida Water Management District                     Chief Modeler 

1995 to 2011         South Florida Water Management District                     Department Director, Division Director

May, 1991             Florida Atlantic University                                               Adjunct Professor

May, 2000             University of South Florida                                             Courtesy Associate Professor

1987 to 2012         South Florida Water Management                                  Various positions


PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS AND NATIONAL COMMITTEES

Member, American Geophysical Union, American Society of Civil Engineers, Journal of Coastal Research.

Member, Surface Runoff Committee of the American Geophysical Union (term expired)

Member of the National Research Council committee to review recent hydrologic studies of the Klamath River Basin in Oregon and California (term completed)

Member of the National Research Council committee on Sustainable Water & Environmental Management in California Bay-Delta (term completed)

Member of the National Research Council panel on California Bay Delta Conservation Plan (term completed)

External agency member to the US Army Corps of Engineers to review the hydrologic modeling of the New Orleans in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina

Member of the organizing committee of the Federal interagency conference on hydrologic modeling and sediment transport (3 conferences, 2002, 2006, 2010)

Member of the United States National Climate Assessment and Development and Advisory Committee, USGCRP,  appointed by The Secretary of Commerce, US Department of Commerce (Current). Lead author for SE Chapter of the 2014 National Climate Assessment

Member and Co-author, Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the National Climate Assessment (released 2012)

Member of the National Research Council committee on the Edwards Aquifer in Texas (Term beginning Feb 2014)

Member, Coastal Assessment Regional Scenario Working Group (CARSWG), Department of Defense


Peer Reviewer for Hydrologic Processes, Journal of Hydrology, EoS (AGU), Climate Science, Earth Interactions, J. Hydrologic Engineering, Coastal Engineering, Journal of Coastal Research, Water Resources Research, Mathematical Problems in Engineering, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, J. American Water Resources Association, Hydrological Sciences, Environmental Reviews, Climate Dynamics, Regional Environmental Change, Weather, Climate and Society journal

PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATION

Registered Professional Engineer (No. 40202), State of Florida, Diplomate Water Resource Engineer, EWRI


TEACHING EXPERIENCE

1.  Basic Hydrology (Undergraduate), Colorado State University

2.  Advanced Hydrology (Graduate), George Washington University

3.  Water Resources Planning (Graduate), George Washington University

4.  Computer Watershed Models in Hydrology (Graduate), Colorado State University

5.  Stochastic Processes in Hydrology (Graduate), Colorado State University

6.  Control of Floods and Droughts (Graduate), Colorado State University

7.  Engineering Mechanics: Dynamics (Undergraduate), Colorado State University

8.  Dynamic Hydrology (Graduate), Florida Atlantic University

9.  Stochastic Hydrology (Graduate), Florida Atlantic University

BOOKS

Co-editor,  Multivariate Analysis of Hydrologic Processes, Proceedings of Fourth International Hydrology Symposium, July 15-17, 1985, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado

Co-author, Landscapes and Hydrology of the Pre-drainage Everglades, University Press of Florida, ISBN 978-0-8130-3535-2, Gainesville, Florida, 2011

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE 


Brazil:   One-week visit to write a proposal for water management in the drought-prone regions of the North and East 

Colombia: Visited two times to conduct short-course on hydrologic modeling at the National University, Medellin

Dominican Republic: Principal Investigator for hydrologic studies, Operational Studies of the Valdesia Reservoir, a project funded by the World Bank.  Taught several training classes on hydrologic modeling.

India: Participated as a member of US team at a special workshop on Incorporation of climate information in water resources management held in Pune, India, July 2006

Korea:Taught 12 hours on Statistical Modeling of Hydrologic Extremes at the course on Risk Analysis of Water/Environmental Systems organized by Professors Jose Salas & Jun-Haeng Heo, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea:  Jan 21-Feb 1, 2013.

Presented an invited lecture on “Incorporation of Climate Change and Variability for Management of Water Resources in South Florida, USA,” at the International  Symposium on New Directions in Climate Change Research, held Seoul, Korea (March, 2008)

Peru: Short course on “Risk of extreme events under non-stationary conditions” at the National University of Engineering, Lima, March 14-16, 2013.

Spain: Invited to teach at a one-week short-course on hydrologic modeling using stochastic methods at University of Valencia

Sri Lanka:

·       During the last several years, taught several short-courses on hydrologic modeling to engineers at the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Drainage Corporation (SLLRDC). 

·       Developed a methodology for computing design rainfall events for the Colombo Metropolitan Region. 

·       On several occasions during the past several years, presented seminars to engineers at the Irrigation Department and to the scientists at International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

·       Presented a Special Invited Lecture at the International Conference on Water Resources Management in the Changing Environment of the Monsoon Region held November17-19, 2004 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The title of the paper was “Integrated Water Resources Management in the USA–Experience in South Florida.”

·       Presented a seminar entitled “Recent Technological Advances in Hydrologic Information Systems” to about 40 engineers at the Irrigation Department in Sri Lanka (November 25, 2004).

·       Co-principal investigator on Tsunami Impacts on groundwater, soils, and vegetation in coastal regions of Sri Lanka, funded by the US National Foundation, and the Sri Lanka National Science Foundation (visited Sri Lanka in February, 2005, and again in July, 2005)

·       Presented several talks on Climate Change (March, 2011)

USA: Taught a short course entitled “Quantifying Hydrologic Risk of Extreme Events in Non-Stationary Environments,” at the 2013 ASCE-EWRI meeting, Cincinnati, Ohio

Venezuela: Invited to present a paper on “Ecosystem Restoration and Sustainable Development in South Florida,” Inter-american Conference on Environmental Issues, December 8-11, 1997, Universidad Simon Bolivar


     

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