David Watkins, PE

Contact

dwatkins@mtu.edu
906-487-1640
Dow 806

Distinguished Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering

PhD, Civil Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin
MS, Environmental Health Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin
BS, Civil Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
BS, Engineering and Public Policy, Washington University in St. Louis

Biography

Dr. Watkins' teaching interests include hydrologic and hydraulic engineering, water and environmental systems analysis, and international service learning. His research interests include water resources planning and management, hydrologic modeling and forecasting, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. His current research projects include analyzing the drivers and environmental impacts of household food, energy, and water consumption; estimating flood discharges in ungauged basins under current and future climate conditions; and providing technical support for climate adaptation and hazard mitigation in rural communities. Dr. Watkins serves as a faculty advisor to the Michigan Tech student chapter of Engineers Without Borders-USA and directs the Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows and AmeriCorps/VISTA master’s programs at Michigan Tech. In addition, he is active in the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and he previously served as chief editor of the ASCE Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management.

Links of Interest

Google Scholar Profile

Center for Climate-driven Hazard Adaptation, Resilience, and Mitigation (C-CHARM) in Great Lakes Rural Communities

AmeriCorps and VISTA Master’s Programs

Michigan Tech Chapter of Engineers Without Borders-USA

Google Scholar Profile

Teaching Interests

Water resources planning and management
Environmental systems analysis
Hydrologic and hydraulic engineering
Optimization methods
Learning through service

Research Interests

Integrated water resources planning
Hydrologic modeling and forecasting
Flood risk management
Climate change mitigation and adaptation planning
Food-Energy-Water Nexus
Systems optimization under uncertainty
Sustainable development engineering

Publications

Agusdinata, D. B., Hanif, M., Shwom, R., Watkins, D., Floress, K., Cuite, C., & Halvorsen, K. E. (2024). Effectiveness of conservation messages to reduce households' GHG emissions: A serious-gaming experiment. Journal of Environmental Management, 351, 119948.
Daignault, J., C. Wallace, D. Watkins, et al. (2023). A household-scale life cycle assessment model for understanding the food-energy-water nexus. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 11, 1059301.
Sidortsov, R., S. Tiwari, T. Scarlett, A. Dyreson, D. Watkins (2021). PUSHing for storage: A case for repurposing decommissioned mines for pumped underground storage hydro (PUSH) in the United States. Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton, MI.
Geglio, T., T. Bradley, T. Williams, S. Zhou, D. Watkins, D. Minakata (2021). Water-and energy-efficient appliances for circular water economy: Conceptual framework development and analysis of greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption. ACS ES&T Engineering, 2(3), 409-422.
Ankathi, S., Watkins, D., Sreedhara, P., Zuhlke, J., & Shonnard, D. R. (2021). GIS-integrated optimization for locating food waste and manure anaerobic Co-digestion facilities. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 9(11), 4024-4032.
Watkins, D., and Daignault, J. (2020). Managing hydroclimatic variability for food security. Zero Hunger, 518-529.
Babbar-Sebens, M., Root, E., Rosenberg, D. E., Watkins, D., Mirchi, A., Giacomoni, M., and Madani, K. (2019). “Training Water Resources Systems Engineers to Communicate: Acting on Observations from On-the-Job Practitioners,” Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, 145(4), 04019012.
Heidari, A., Mayer, A.S., and Watkins, D.W. (2019). “Hydrologic impacts and trade-offs associated with forest-based bioenergy development practices in a snow-dominated watershed, Wisconsin, USA,” Journal of Hydrology, DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.04.067.

Alian, S., Mayer, A.S., Maclean, A., Watkins, D. and Mirchi, A. (2019). “Spatiotemporal dimensions of water stress accounting: Incorporating groundwater-surface water interactions and ecological thresholds,” Environmental Science & Technology, 53(5), 2316–2323.
Watkins, D., Shwom, R, Schelly, C., Agusdinata, B., Floress, K., and Halvorsen, K.E. (2018). “Understanding Household Conservation, Climate Change, and the Food-Energy-Water Nexus from a Transdisciplinary Perspective,” in A Research Agenda for Environmental Management, Edward Elgar Publishing.
Mirchi, A., Watkins, D. W., Engel, V., Sukop, M. C., Czajkowski, J., Bhat, M., Rehage, J., Letson, D, Takatsuka, Y., and Weisskoff, R. (2018). “A hydro-economic model of South Florida water resources system,” Science of the Total Environment, 628-629, 1531-1541.
Brown, C.E., Bhat, M.G., Rehage, J.S., Mirchi, A., Boucek, R., Engel, V., Ault, J., Mozumder, P., Watkins, D., and Sukop, M. (2018). “Ecological-economic assessment of the effects of freshwater flow in the Florida Everglades on recreational fisheries,” Science of the Total Environment, 627, 480-493.
Takatsuka, Y., Niekus, M.R., Harrington, J., Feng, S., Watkins, D., Mirchi, A., Nguyen, H., and Sukop, M.C. (2018). “Value of irrigation water usage in South Florida agriculture,” Science of the Total Environment, 626, 486-496.
Lanier, A.L., Drabik, J.R., Heikkila, T., Bolson, J., Sukop, M.C., Watkins, D.W., Rehage, J., Mirchi, A., Engel, V. and Letson, D. (2018). “Facilitating integration in interdisciplinary research: Lessons from a south Florida water, sustainability, and climate project,” Environmental Management, 62(6), 1025-1037.
Spellman, P., Webster, V., and Watkins, D. (2018). “Bias correcting instantaneous peak flows generated using a continuous, semi‐distributed hydrologic model,” Journal of Flood Risk Management, e12342.
Czajkowski, J., Engel, V., Martinez, C., Mirchi, A., Watkins, D., Hughes, J., and Sukop, M. (2017). “Economic impacts of urban flooding in south Florida: Potential consequences of managing groundwater to prevent salt water intrusion,” Science of the Total Environment, 621, 465-478.
Miller, L.B., M.C. Moritz, and D.W. Watkins (2017). “Connectivity and Source Protection: Perspectives on Water and Sanitation Challenges in Rural Indigenous Panama,” Proc. World Environmental and Water Resources Congress, ASCE, Sacramento, CA, May 20-24.
Yang, X., You, Z., Hiller, J., and Watkins, D. (2017). “Sensitivity of flexible pavement design to Michigan’s climatic inputs using pavement ME design,” International Journal of Pavement Engineering, 18(7), 622-632.
Moraes, M.M.G.A., Ribeiro, M.M.R., Watkins, D.W., Viana, J.H.N., Figueiredo, L.E.N., da Silva, G.S. and Carneiro, A.C.G. (2016). “Integrated economic models to support decisions on water pricing in biofuel production river basins: three case studies from Brazil,” Biofuels, Bioprod. Bioref., 10(3), 255–269.
Zhang, F., Johnson, D., Johnson, M., Watkins, D., Froese, R., Wang, J. (2016). “Decision support system integrating GIS with simulation and optimisation for a biofuel supply chain,” Renewable Energy, 85, 740-748.
Pouryousef, H., Lautala, P., Watkins, D. (2016). “Development of hybrid optimization of train schedules model for N-track rail corridors,” Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 67, 169-192.
Watkins, D., M. Moraes, H. Asbjornsen, A. Mayer, J. Licata, J. Gutierrez, T. Pypker, V. Molina, G. Marques, A. Carneiro, H. Nuñez, H. Önal, and B. Germano (2015). “Bioenergy Development and Integrated Water-Energy Management in Pan America,” Environmental Management, 56(6), 1295-1314.
LaBeau, M., A.S. Mayer, V.W. Griffis, D.W. Watkins, D. Robertson, R. Gyawali (2015). “The importance of considering shifts in seasonal changes in discharges when predicting future phosphorus loads in streams,” Biogeochemistry, 126(1-2), 153-172.
Gyawali R., V.W. Griffis, D.W. Watkins Jr., and N.M. Fennessey (2015). “Regional regression models for hydro-climate change impact assessment,” Hydrol. Process., 29(8), 1972–1985.
Gyawali, R., D.W. Watkins Jr., V.W. Griffis, and B.F. Lofgren (2014). “Energy budget considerations for hydro-climatic impact assessment in Great Lakes watersheds,” Journal of Great Lakes Research, 40(4): 940–948, doi: 10.1016/j.jglr.2014.09.005.
Mirchi, A., D.W. Watkins Jr., C.J. Huckins, K. Madani, and P. Hjorth (2014). “Water resources management in a homogenizing world: Averting the Growth and Underinvestment trajectory,” Water Resour. Res., 50, doi:10.1002/2013WR015128.
Ilorme, F., V.W. Griffis, and D.W. Watkins Jr. (2014). “Regional Rainfall Frequency and Ungaged Basin Analysis for Flood Risk Assessment in Haiti,” Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, ASCE, 19(1), 123–132.
Lofgren, B.M., A.D. Gronewold, A. Acciaioli, J. Cherry, A. Steiner, and D. Watkins (2013). “Methodological Approaches to Projecting the Hydrologic Impacts of Climate Change,” Earth Interactions, 17, 1–19.
Etkin, D., P. Kirshen, D. Watkins, G. Hoogenboom, M. Roncoli, et al. (2013). “Stochastic Programming for Improved Multi-Use Reservoir Operation in Burkina Faso, West Africa,” Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000396.
Fry, L.M., D.W. Watkins Jr., N. Reents, M.D. Rowe, and J.R. Mihelcic (2012). “Climate Change and Development Impacts on the Sustainability of Spring-fed Water Supply Systems in the Alto Beni Region of Bolivia,” Journal of Hydrology, 468-469: 120-129.
Mirchi, A., K. Madani, D.W. Watkins Jr., and S. Ahmad (2012). “Synthesis of System Dynamics Tools for Holistic Conceptualization of Water Resources Problems,” Water Resources Management, 26(9), 2421-2442.

Teaching Statement

My goal is to provide a safe, exciting, and challenging learning environment for all students. I believe that many students are motivated to learn basic principles through practical application, and thus I frequently use problem-based learning methods and case studies in my courses. In nearly all my courses, students complete independent term projects so that they can dive deeper into topics of their choice. I also welcome guest speakers from industry and government, and I recognize the need for continuous professional development to stay up to date in the field of water resources engineering.