The Center director Jay Lund is scheduled May 14 to receive one of the university's Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Awards for his work in California water policy.
"He has consistently and effectively brought science to policy, influencing policymakers, government agencies and public interest groups," UC Davis stated in its announcement of the annual Academic Senate and Academic Federation awards.
Colleagues nominated Lund for bringing his talents in modeling, economics, engineering and geography to bear on some of California's thorniest and most pressing water issues. They cited his creation of the first and only statewide water resource optimization model, aka "CALVIN," which is used by many agencies to evaluate water policy and operations scenarios. In addition, Lund's collaborative work with the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California has led to groundbreaking legislation on the governance of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a source of drinking water for 25 million Californians and for irrigating 3 million acres of farmland. Lund currently holds the Ray B. Krone Chair in Environmental Engineering.
The awards program is scheduled at 5:15 p.m. in the Activities and Recreation Center ballroom, followed by a reception (6:30 p.m.) and the Faculty Research Lecture (7:15 p.m.).