Joined the faculty of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Massachusetts as an assistant professor in September, 1999.

Part of a research team conducting empirical analyses of the fundamental physical processes at the land-surface that control the hydrology and hydraulics of extreme floods. Detailed rainfall, discharge, and land-surface data sets have been assembled for approximately 70 distinct watersheds, distributed throughout the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, experiencing 100+ year flood events. Flooding in these watersheds is the result of approximately 25 rainfall events occurring during the period October 1994 - September 1997. This data set is used to answer several scientific questions addressing the role of antecedent soil moisture, drainage basin morphology, space-time structure of rainfall, soil texture, and basin land use - land cover in determining the hydrologic response of extreme floods. Inter-comparison studies, regional analyses, and the response of individual watersheds over a range of flood magnitudes are being conducted. A variety of analytical tools are being used, including statistical analysis, GIS analysis using the ERDAS IMAGINE package, and 2-D modeling of overland flow processes with the CASC2D model.

Performed research aimed at determining the role of suspended sediment in the timing and delivery of nonpoint source pollution from source areas to downstream eutrophication problem areas. Emphasis was placed on the role of floods in the transport of suspended sediment and nutrients; the time scales over which suspended sediment and associated nutrients move; and the partitioning of rainfall into Hortonian and saturated excess overland flows. Specific tasks included: the characterization of the nutrient and suspended sediment regimes of major East Coast rivers, assessment of observed trends, and identification of potential underlying causality; the development of a suspended sediment budget for the Goodwin Creek experimental watershed in Mississippi; the analysis of the residence time of fine-grained sediment in the Goodwin Creek main channel; and 2-D hydrodynamic modeling of sediment and flow, particularly at Goodwin Creek.

Perspectives on Environmental Issues: Science and Engineering, Professors: Hal Feivesson, George Philander. Developed and conducted weekly discussion groups, including grading exams.

Thermodynamics, Professor: Wayne Paulson. Responsible for grading assigned homework and exams and holding tutorial office hours.

STORM-FEST Co-coordinator and Participant

Responsible for scheduling shifts for releasing and tracking radiosonde balloons, as requested by the National Climate Data Center, at the Iowa City, Iowa site of the STORM Fronts Experiment Systems Test (February - March, 1992). Also participated in the data collection.

Research Experience for Undergraduates

National Science Foundation Grant. Performed research on techniques for analysis of fine-increment storm rainfall. Helped establish and run a prototype fine-increment rainfall weather station, including coding and data analysis. Supervisor: Dr. K.P. Georgakakos, then at the University of Iowa.

Pre-Teaching Co-op Intern

Actively participated in teaching Engineering I, a freshman engineering core course. Duties included lecture content input, lecture presentations, preparation and grading of exams, and direct interaction with students. Supervisor: Dr. Gene Parkin, University of Iowa.

Hawaiian Rainband Project

Installation and operation of two optical raingages and rain data acquisition at Hilo, Hawaii, as part of the International Hawaiian Rainband Project (HARP). Conducted spatial analysis of storm rainfall rates sampled at very high frequencies. Supervisor: Dr. K.P. Georgakakos, then at the University of Iowa.

National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, 1992-1994,1995-1996
Higgins Scholar Prize, Princeton University, Fall 1992.
National Science Foundation Undergraduate Research Fellow, 1989-1992
Travel Grant from National Science Foundation to participate in HARP, 1990
Alexander Scholarship, 1990-1991
Stebler Scholarship, 1989-90
Hapke Scholarship, 1988-89
Honors in Civil and Environmental Engineering (scholarship), 1988-89
University of Iowa Freshman Engineering Honors Scholarship, 1988-89
Phi Eta Sigma (National Honors Society for College Freshman) Initiate, Fall 1990
Chi Epsilon (Civil Engineering Honors Society) Initiate, Fall 1990
Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honors Society) Initiate, Spring 1989

Sturdevant Rees, P. L., Smith, J. A., Egorova, J., and M. L. Baeck, Flood hydrology of the central Appalachians: Hurricane Fran, September 6-7, 1996, submitted to Water Resources Research December 1999.

Smith, J. A., Baeck, M. L., Egorova, J., and P. L. Sturdevant Rees, Catastrophic rainfall and flooding in Texas, accepted to Journal of Hydrometeorology, January 1999.

Holman-Dodds, J. K., Bradley, A. A., and P. L. Sturdevant Rees, 1999. Effect of temporal sampling of precipitation on hydrologic model calibration. Journal of Geophysical Research, 104(D16), 19645-19654.

Sturdevant, P. L. and J. A. Smith, The time scales of sediment movement through Goodwin Creek, Mississippi, to be submitted to Water Resources Research March 2000.

Sturdevant Rees, P. L., Baeck, M. L., and J. A. Smith, Response of the Chicago metropolitan area to extreme rainfall: July 1996, in preparation.

Sturdevant Rees, P. L., Smith, J. A. and M. L. Baeck, Hydrology and hydrometeorology of extreme floods in urban environments, in preparation.

Sturdevant Rees, P. L. and J. A. Smith, Numerical simulations of sediment transport in Goodwin Creek, Mississippi, in preparation.

Sturdevant Rees, P. L. and J. A. Smith, Transport of suspended sediment and nutrients by large floods, in preparation.

Baeck, M. L., Smith, J. A. and P. L. Sturdevant Rees, Hydrology, hydraulics and hydrometeorology of extreme floods in the Charlotte NC metropolitan area, in preparation.

Bates, P. D., Sturdevant Rees, P. L., Baeck, M. L. and J. A. Smith, Hydraulic modeling of large floods, in preparation.

Sturdevant, P. L., and K. P. Georgakakos, 1991. Spatial measurement and statistics of storm rainfall, Second Year Report to the National Science Foundation on the Award for Research Experience for Undergraduates, Award No. CES-8657526, Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242.

Sturdevant, P. L., Chambers, V. A., and K.P. Georgakakos, June 1990. Measurement and analysis of fine-increment storm rainfall, First Year Report to the National Science Foundation on the Award for Research Experience for Undergraduates, Award No. CES-8657526, Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242.

Georgakakos, K. P., Sharifi, M. B., and P. L. Sturdevant, 1995. Analysis of fine-increment point rainfall, in: New Uncertainty Concepts in Hydrology and Water Resources, ed. Z.W. Kundzewicz, Cambridge University Press, New York, 18 pages. (Refereed publication.)

Georgakakos, K. P., Carsteanu, A. A., Sturdevant, P. L., and J. A. Cramer, 1994. Observation and analysis of Midwestern rainrates, Journal of Applied Meteorology, Vol. 33, No. 12, 1433-1444.

Georgakakos, K. P., Sharifi, M. B., and P. L. Sturdevant, 1990. Analyses of fine-increment point rainfall, Preprints, Eighth Conference on Hydrometeorology, Kananaskis Park, Canada, American Meteorological Society, 99-102.

Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, 1995. A Cross-County Evaluation of Recycling Efforts in New Jersey: Final Report, Spring 1995, Methods in Science, Technology and Public Policy.

Sturdevant Rees, P. L., Smith, J. A., and M. L. Baeck, Hydrology and hydrometeorology of extreme floods in urban environments. Paper to be presented at the 1999 American Geophysical Union Spring Meeting in Boston, MA.

Sturdevant Rees, P. L., J. A. Smith, J. B. Egorova, and M. L. Baeck, 1998, Extreme flood response in the Potomac River basin for Hurricane Fran, EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union. Abstract of poster presented at the 1998 Spring Meeting, Boston, MA.

Sturdevant, P. L. and J. A. Smith, 1997, Sediment transport at Goodwin Creek, Mississippi and implications to water quality, EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union. Abstract of poster presented at the 1997 Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA.

Sturdevant, P. L., Smith, J. A., and A. J. Miller, 1996, Analyses of the sediment transport regime at Goodwin Creek, Mississippi, EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, v. 77, n. 46, p. 252. Abstract of poster presented at the 1996 Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA.

Sturdevant, P. L., Smith, J. A., and A. J. Miller, 1995, Numerical simulations of open channel flow and sediment transport processes at Goodwin Creek, Mississippi, EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, v. 76, n. 46, p. 268. Abstract of poster presented at the 1995 Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA.

Sturdevant, P. L., Smith, J. A., and A. J. Miller, 1994, Sediment transport and transformations by large floods in the South Branch Potomac River, EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, v. 75, n. 44, p. 233. Abstract of poster presented at the 1994 Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA.

Sturdevant, P. L., Smith, J. A., and R. D. DeVeaux, 1994, Sediment and nutrient transport by large floods in the Potomac River Basin, EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, v. 75, n. 16, p. 165. Abstract of talk presented at the 1994 Spring Meeting, Baltimore, MD.

Georgakakos, K. P., Sharifi, M. B., and P. L. Sturdevant, 22-24 October 1990, Analysis of fine increment point rainfall, Eighth Conference on Hydrometeorology, Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada.