People

Dr. Zagona leads a multidisciplinary team at CADSWES in the research and development of RiverWare and other decision support tools.

Dr. Balaji, a Professor of Hydrology, Water Resources & Environmental Fluid Mechanics Interests in: Stochastic Hydrology and Hydroclimatology Nonparametric functional estimation techniques (probability density)...

Dr. Kasprzyk’s research group focuses on how to generate new plans for engineering systems, evaluate their performance, visualize trade-offs between multiple objectives and negotiate robust alternatives.

Mitch Clement holds a BA in Ancient Languages from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, as well as BS and MS degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado.

Ryan Lankin received a BS in Computer Science from the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) in 2009. After graduating, he worked in the private sector for several years, primarily in the field of network security.

Jessica Lee provides software build and release support for the RiverWare development team. She builds, configures and maintains the release tools used for creating RiverWare installers, and the licensing tools used for license management.

Patrick Lynn did his undergraduate studies at Rice University (BS in Computer Science and Math Sciences, 1987). He completed his graduate work at the University of Colorado (PhD in Computer Science, Certificate in Cognitive Science, 1994), where his research explored theories of human memory and amnesia.

Tim Magee has over 30 years of experience in optimization, including reservoir optimization at CADSWES since 1993. His expertise is in the theory and application of linear programming, integer programming, goal programming and stochastic programming.

David Neumann earned a BS/MS in Civil Engineering from CU Boulder in 2002. In his research, he developed “An operations model for temperature management of the Truckee River above Reno, Nevada.” After a brief time in the consulting world, he began working full time at CADSWES on the RiverWare development team in 2005.

Jim Pasquotto started work at CADSWES in 2005. He functions as the center's main resource for Windows hardware, software and peripherals support.

Kathryn Baack is the financial coordinator for CADSWES. Her roles include payroll liaison, human resources liaison, accountant and research funds administrator. Kathryn earned an MBA from CU Boulder in 1994, and she passed the CPA exam in 1996.

Gwen Miller is a general professional at CADSWES, with a primary focus on technology transfer activities related to the RiverWare decision support system developed at the center and licensed through Venture Partners at CU Boulder.

Nathan is in the PhD program in Civil Engineering, with a focus on Hydrology, Water Resources and Environmental Fluid Mechanics. He is co-advised by Professors Edith Zagona and Joseph Kasprzyk.

Elle is a PhD student in Civil Engineering with a focus on Hydrology, Water Resources, and Environmental Fluid Mechanics. She is co-advised by Dr. Zagona and Dr. Kasprzyk and funded through the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

David is a PhD student at CU Boulder, currently working on a project funded by the Bureau of Reclamation involving development of midterm streamflow forecast methods for the Upper Colorado River Basin based on climate model projections.

Sarah is an engineer for the Bureau of Reclamation Lower Colorado Region. In August 2019, she earned her PhD in Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, in Water Resources and Hydrology, with Professor Balaji.

Alan Butler is a hydrologic engineer with the Bureau of Reclamation Lower Colorado Region and is currently on assignment at CADSWES.

Logan has nearly a decade of applied water resources engineering experience in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Capitalizing on her professional experience working in private consulting and for Denver Water, she has a strong background in water rights, consumptive use, demand management, surface water allocation modeling, and long-range planning.

Conor Felletter is a hydraulic engineer with the Bureau of Reclamation Upper Colorado Region and is currently on assignment at CADSWES. Conor is a former graduate student at CU Boulder, where he earned BS and MS degrees in Civil Engineering.

Carly is the new water resource program manager, to develop updated operating rules for Colorado River reservoirs. The Colorado River sustains ecosystems and economies across the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. A number of operating rules and agreements within the United States and with the Republic of Mexico expire at the end of 2025. This new position will ensure that new operating rules are developed in a thorough and transparent manner – working closely with the seven Colorado River Basin states, twenty-nine tribes, water districts, non-governmental organizations, and users in Mexico that are served by the Colorado River.

Jessica Khaya is stationed at CADSWES as part of the Bureau of Reclamation Lower Colorado planning and modeling team. Jessie joined Reclamation as a Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) student while completing her master's degree at the Colorado School of Mines in 2017, in water resource engineering.

James Prairie has been a hydrologic engineer for the Bureau of Reclamation since 2000, and he is currently stationed at CADSWES. Prairie has extensive experience directing and coordinating research, development and modeling projects.

Rebecca Smith graduated from CU Boulder in 2017 with a PhD in Civil Engineering, Water Resources concentration. She began her research at CADSWES in 2013, specializing in multiobjective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA)-assisted optimization for planning and operations of complex water resources systems.