Gilbert F. White Lecture in the Geographical Sciences

ALEXANDRIA, VA – December 24, 2007. The Geographical Sciences Committee of the National Academy of Sciences announces the second annual Gilbert F. White Lecture in the Geographical Sciences on February 27, 2008, in Washington, D.C. The lecture, to be given by Professor Gerald Galloway, USACE Institute for Water Resources and University of Maryland, is entitled "Managing American Water Resources: Recognizing the Realities of Geography."

The aim of the Gilbert F. White lecture series "developed with his blessing" is to focus on connections between the geographical sciences and society. It will both honor Dr. White and also use his example as an inspiration for geographers to share their work on the connections between science and society.

The lecture will begin at 5:30 pm in Room 100 of the Keck Center of the National Academies, 500 Fifth St NW, Washington, D.C., 20001.

More About Gilbert F. White

IWR's Maass-White Reference Room is dedicated to the contributions made by Gilbert F. White and Arthur Maass to the profession of water management. No other scholars in the twentieth century had more influence on the Corps of Engineers. Their ideas have not been overcome by time.

Professor White argued in his 1942 dissertation, Human Adjustment to Flood, that non-structural flood damage reduction measures should be used if their costs and impacts compared favorably to structural measures. He is considered the father of floodplain management.

More About Gerald Galloway

Professor Gerald E. Galloway, Jr. joined IWR as the Institute's 2006-2007 Maass-White Visiting Scholar. Dr. Galloway had been engaged with the Institute on a part-time basis for several years, and his appointment as Maass-White Scholar increased his visibility and interactions at IWR, as well as extended his technical influence and intellectual engagement within the USACE and the larger U.S. water resources community.

While at IWR, Professor Galloway was engaged in several national efforts to develop and infuse new approaches to U.S. water resources planning and management. He has a particular interest in advancing flood risk and flood plain management policies, practices and research, while at the same time furthering the debate on a broad range of national water resources policy issues. In recent years, he has been especially active in national flood risk initiatives and FEMA flood hazard mapping modernization efforts, including serving as Chair of FEMA's Interagency Levee Committee.

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