Introduction to Water Resources

Sam L. Laki ​is currently Professor of Resource Economics in the Department of Water Resources Management, Central State University, Wilberforce, Ohio, a position he held since 1999. He attained his Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture with honors in 1979 from the University of Khartoum, Sudan, his Master’s degree in 1981 from the University of Reading, England in 1981, and his Bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1991 from Michigan State University and his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Michigan State University in 1992.

He served as an Agricultural economist in the planning Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Sudan from 1979-1980 and 1981-1895. He served as an Agricultural Economist at Yambio Agricultural Research Station, Agricultural Research Corporation, Sudan from 1983-1985.

In 1992, Sam Laki was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Water Resources Management at Central State University, He was appointed to Associate Professor in 1997 and Full Professor in 1999. At Central State University, Laki taught a variety of Resource Economics courses (Introduction to Water Resources, Water Resources Policy, Socioeconomics of Water Resources, Water and Environmental Law, Water Resources Economics, Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Development, Principles of Economics). He was an adviser for many of the Department’s Water Resources Management majors. Laki taught two graduate courses (Agricultural Development and African Economic Development) Department of Economics, Ohio University, Athens Ohio 2002/2001. And Macroeconomics and Forecasting, Antioch University, Midwest, Springfield Ohio from 2000-2010.

His research was in the areas of Water Resources Management, Environmental Policy, Agricultural Economics and Economic Development. Many publications in scholarly journals resulted from those research efforts. His research is in both domestic and international scope. He won a Faculty excellence award for research in 2003.

Krishna Kumar V. Nedunuri is a Professor of Environmental Engineering in the Department of Water Resources management, Central State University, a position he held since 2009. He earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering Technology from Andhra University, India in in 1990, an M.S. in Chemical Engineering Science from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India in in 1992, and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering area of Civil Engineering from Purdue University in 1999.

Nedunuri was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Water Resources Management, Central State University in 1999. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2004 and Full Professor in 2009. He was the academic department chair for over seven years during which time the Environmental Engineering program gained ABET accreditation for the first time in 2017.  He is currently the Director for the International Center for Water Resources Management. He has been teaching several courses in both Water Resources and Environmental Engineering curricula. He brought innovations in undergraduate teaching by introducing inquiry based learning and problem based learning approaches. He uses experiential learning as a way of reinforcing concepts being taught in science and engineering classrooms. His efforts lead him to receive recognition through peer-reviewed journal publications. He is a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fellow at the Dayton Regional Center and a Scientific Teaching Fellow at the Summer Institutes organized by the National Science Foundation and Howards Hughes Medical Institute.  Nedunuri has been teaching graduate courses in Clean Energy Engineering at Wright State University since 2010.     

He served as PI/Co-PI in over 25 research and educations grants and authored/co-authored numerous publications and technical reports in water quality, modeling of soil and water physical/chemical processes, soil remediation and ecosystem restoration, and STEM education. He was a reviewer for the USDA NIFA AFRI Agroecosytem Management Grant Program. He has served as a reviewer to several engineering journals, and is a member of the State technical board for the Natural Resources and Conservation Service (NRCS), USDA, Ohio.

Ramanitharan Kandiah is a Professor of Environmental Engineering, Department of Water Resources Management, Central State University, a position he held since 2017. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering in 1990, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, sri lanka, a Master’s degree in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering in 1994, Hohai University, Nanjing, China, a Masters in Environmental Engineering in 1998, Marquette University, Wisconsin. Ph.D. in Civil Engineering in 2004, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, and a Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems, 2006, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts.

Ramanitharan was appointed Assistant Professor in Environmental Engineering in 2008, promoted to Associate Professor in 2013, and to Full Professor in 2017. He is currently the Program Coordinator for the Department of water Resources Management. He was a Postdoctoral Associate in Northeastern University between 2004 and 2006. In addition to Water Resources Management courses, he has also taught Environmental Engineering courses. Ramanitharan’s current research areas are Evapotranspiration, Sustainability of Water Resources, Datamining Applications in Water Resources and History of water.   

He is a registered Professional Engineer in Ohio, a Professional Hydrologist, and a Board Certified Environmental Engineer. He is a past chair of Demographics and Membership Committee of Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors and a National Society of Professional Engineers Mentors Task Committee member. He is currently a member of the Environmental Sustainability Committee of American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists. He also contributes in various committees of EWRI, ASEE and ASCE-Dayton Chapter. He has also served as a reviewer for professional journals and funding agencies including National Science Foundation.