FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 6, 2008                                 

DRI hires Assistant Research Hydrologist
Chris Garner is recent UNR graduate and working on Walker Basin project

RENO – Chris Garner has been hired as an Assistant Research Hydrologist by the Desert Research Institute.

“Chris has experience in developing computer codes for the calibration of integrated numerical surface and groundwater models,” said Stephen Wells, DRI President. “He is working on the development of an integrated model for a portion of the Walker River Basin, which will serve as a decision support tool for the acquisition of water rights in the agricultural valleys upstream of Walker Lake.”

Garner received his Master of Science degree in Hydrology from the Graduate Program of Hydrologic Sciences at the University of Nevada, Reno in May of 2007. He received a bachelor’s degree in Geological Sciences from the University of Memphis in 2005. He has worked as a staff hydrologist at DRI for the past year, working on various projects in the semi arid/arid portions of the United States.

Water leasing and market studies are also major research interests for Garner. He is also working on a project funded by the National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center’s research on the Sustainability of semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas (SAHRA), which is developing a medium resolution hydrologic model to assess the feasibility of water leasing in the Middle Rio Grande Basin.

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