The Fifth International Symposium on Environmental Hydraulics (ISEH V) will be held in Tempe, Arizona, from 4-7 December 2007. The Symposium is being hosted jointly by Arizona State University and the University of Arizona under the auspices of the International Association for Hydraulics Engineering and Research (IAHR).
The overall theme of the Symposium is the application of the results of basic research to issues facing government policy makers, business concerns and the public in the management of our natural resources. The Symposium will focus on a core program of traditional environmental hydraulics topics, the scope of which is indicated by the table on topics and conveners. Invited speakers will review the present state of knowledge in critical topic areas, and contributed papers will be presented in lecture and seminar sessions. All papers will be published in the Symposium Proceedings on CD-ROM, with an accompanying abstract book. A keynote speaker will address some of the themes set out for the ISEH-V. Two special focus areas of international import will be addressed.
The Symposium will include a panel discussion addressing the adequacy of the world’s preparedness and response to hydraulically-related natural disasters such as the Asian tsunamis in 2004/5 and the hurricanes in Mexico and the United States in the fall of 2005. The overarching question is, “Are the nations with significant stakes in coping with such potential or real catastrophes now in a position to prepare for them in advance , give more accurate warnings and mount a better response during and following these events?’ What new science and technology is being developed and what should be done both technically and organizationally to reduce the future impact of such disasters? Lord Julian Hunt, University College, London, julian.hunt@cpom.ucl.ac.uk , will organize and lead the panel discussion.
A workshop to consider ways in which the world community might better address aspects of water-related epidemics will precede the Symposium. A plenary session of the ISEH V Conference will be devoted to the workshop. For more details the reader is referred to the section “Hydro-Epidemiological Futures Workshop