Julie Coonrod
UNM Provost Chaouki Abdallah has announced the appointment of Professor Julie Coonrod as Dean of the Office of Graduate Studies effective Jan. 1, 2013.
"I am pleased to announce Dr. Coonrod as Dean of the Office of Graduate Studies," said Abdallah. "She brings to the position a lot of passion for graduate education and a great deal of experience working and conducting research in an interdisciplinary environment. She will do an excellent job advancing our goals to transform graduate education at the University of New Mexico."
An Albuquerque native, Coonrod has a BE degree from Vanderbilt University, a M.S. from UNM and a Ph.D in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. She consulted for a local Civil Engineering firm in Albuquerque and Santa Fe for 5 years prior to her Ph.D. work.
Coonrod has been with UNM for 16 years, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses related to water resources engineering. She teaches a graduate level course that emphasizes the modeling capabilities of geographic information systems to students seeking a variety of degrees. She participates in interdisciplinary programs including the Water Resources Program and the IGERT Freshwater Sciences Program. Additionally, she recently co-taught Women, Water, & Work with multiple departments.
Coonrod's research focuses on issues relating to the Middle Rio Grande, including bosque evapotranspiration estimates, climate change impacts on stream flow, and the intersection of restoration & flood control goals. She frequently collaborates with faculty in Biology, Earth & Planetary Sciences, and Economics.
Coonrod directs the Hydraulics Lab where physical models of storm water structures for the local flood control authority are continuously built. She has supervised over 30 graduate students. She is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Water Resources Association.
A big Lobo fan, Coonrod frequents basketball, soccer and football games.
Media contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277-5627; email: kwent2@unm.edu