Director of the Water Resources Institute
Professor
Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering

Biography

Professor Todd Walter is a Professor in the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering. His research emphasis is on the interactions between hydrology, ecology, and biogeochemistry. He applies physical hydrology and water resources engineering to a broad range of multidisciplinary research interests and pursues questions that cross the traditional academic boundaries of hydrology and terrestrial ecology.

Research Focus

Professor Walter’s most current research encompasses (a) linkages between hydrology and biogeochemical hotspots and (b) applications of nano-biotechnology to ecohydrological systems.

Teaching Focus

Professor Walter teaches hydrology, ecohydrology, water resources engineering, and other associated topics. He emphasizes opportunities for data analysis, laboratory experiments, and field investigations. The assignments are as real as possible, using actual data typically collected by the students themselves. His courses include BEE 3710 Physical Hydrology for Ecosystems, BEE 4710 Introduction to Groundwater, BEE 4730 Watershed Engineering, and BEE 6740 Ecohydrology.

Additional Links

• M. Todd Walker Website

Awards and Honors

• SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (2015) State University of NY
• 2013 Outstanding Teaching Award, (sponsor: Dorothy and Fred Chau, MS’74) (2013) Cornell University, College of Engineering
• 2008 USDA-CSREES Mission Integration award (with the Soil and Water Lab) (2008) USDA-CSREES
• 2007 Outstanding Teaching Award, (sponsor: Michael Tien ’72) (2007) Cornell University, College of Engineering

Selected Publications

• Lyon, S. W., Walter, M. T., Jantze, E. J., & Archibald, J. A. (2013). Training hydrologists to be ecohydrologists: a “how-you-can-do-it” example leveraging an active learning environment for studying plant-water interaction. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. 17:269-279.
• Dahlke, H., Easton, Z., Fuka, D., Walter, M. T., & Steenhuis, T. S. (2013). Real-Time Forecast of Hydrologically Sensitive Areas in the Salmon Creek Watershed, New York State, Using an Online Prediction Tool. Water. 5:917-944.
• Lyon, S. W., Walter, M. T., Archibald, J. A., & Jantze, E. J. (2013). Training hydrologists to be ecohydrologists: A “how-you-can-do-it” example leveraging an active learning environment. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. 17:9337-9360.
• Fuka, D. R., Easton, Z., Brooks, E. S., Boll, J., Steenhuis, T. S., & Walter, M. T. (2012). A Simple Process-Based Snowmelt Routine to Model Spatially Distributed Snow Depth and Snowmelt in the SWAT Model. JAWRA: Journal of the American Water Resources Association. 48:1151-1161.
• Li, J., Anderson, T. R., & Walter, M. T. (2012). Landscape scale variation in nitrous oxide flux along a typical Northeastern US topographic gradient in the early summer. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution. 223:1571-1580.
• Royem, A. A., Mui, C., Fuka, D. R., & Walter, M. T. (2012). Proposing a low-tech, affordable, accurate stream stage monitoring system. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE). 55:2237-2242.
• Recha, J. W., Lehmann, J., Walter, M. T., Pell, A. N., Verchot, L., & Johnson, M. (2012). Stream discharge in tropical headwater catchments as a result of forest clearing and soil degradation. Earth Interactions. 16:644-653.
• Sharma, A. N., Luo, D., & Walter, M. T. (2012). Hydrological Tracers Using Nanobiotechnology: Proof of Concept. Environmental Science & Technology. 46:8928-8936.
• Dahlke, H. E., Easton, Z., Walter, M. T., & Steenhuis, T. S. (2012). Field Test of the Variable Source Area Interpretation of the Curve Number Rainfall-Runoff Equation. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering. 138:235-244.
• Dahlke, H. E., Easton, Z., Lyon, S. W., Walter, M. T., Destouni, G., & Steenhuis, T. S. (2012). Dissecting the variable source area concept – Subsurface flow pathways and water mixing processes in a hillslope. Journal of Hydrology. 420:125-141.

Presentations and Activities

• Perennial Grass Bioenergy Feedstocks on Wetness-Prone Marginal Soils in New York: Yield, Emissions, and Soil Carbon Trends. Switchgrass Collaboration Meeting. February 2019. Noble Institute. Ardmore, OK.
• Perennial Grass Bioenergy Feedstocks on Wetness-Prone Marginal Soils in New York: Yield, Emissions, and Soil Carbon Trends. NEWBio Bioenergy Consortium Annual Meeting. September 2017. NEWBio NE Bioenergy Consortium/MABEX Conference & Expo. State College, PA.
• Sustainable Perennial Grass Bioenergy Production on Marginal Lands of the Northeast: Six Years and Counting. USDA Sustainable Bioenergy Program Project Director Meeting. October 2016. USDA-NIFA. New Orleans, LA.
• Perennial Grass Bioenergy Feedstocks on Wetness-Prone Marginal Soils in New York: Yield, Emissions, and Soil Carbon Trends. NEWBio Bioenergy Consortium Annual Meeting. July 2016. NEWBio NE Bioenergy Consortium. State College, PA.
• Sustainable Perennial Grass Bioenergy Production on Marginal Lands of the Northeast: Five Years and Counting. USDA Sustainable Bioenergy Program Project Director Meeting. November 2015. USDA-NIFA. Denver CO.
• Carbon sequestration and gaseous emissions in perennial grass bioenergy cropping systems in the Northeastern US. USDA Sustainable Bioenergy Program Project Director Meeting. November 2015. USDA-NIFA. Denver CO.
• Earthworm abundance and diversity within a range of permanent and temporal moisture conditions in biofuel crops. First Global Soil Biodiversity Conference. December 2014. Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative. Dijon, France.
• Carbon sequestration and gaseous emissions in perennial grass bioenergy cropping systems in the Northeastern US. Project Director Meeting. October 2014. USDA-NIFA . Washington, DC.
• Development of sustainable perennial grass bioenergy on marginal soils of New York. Perennial Bioenergy Feedstock Tour and Persentation. July 2014. USDA-NRCS Big Flats Plant Materials Center. Big Flats, NY.