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Phase 1 (2005 Deadline)
Capacity Building for Research, Education, and Training in Water Resources Management in Pakistan
M. Hanif Chaudhry, University of South Carolina
Muhammad Latif, University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Lahore
Pakistani Funding (HEC): $500,000
US Funding: $100,000
Project Dates on US Side: January 1, 2006 - December 31, 2009 (Completed)
Project Overview
This project was aimed at building the capacity of the Center for Excellence in Water Resources Engineering (CEWRE) at UET Lahore by providing education and training to Pakistani graduate students through in-person and Internet-based courses, faculty exchanges, and basic and applied collaborative research activities. Beyond the educational aspects, the research goals of the project focused on providing engineering tools to Pakistani engineers and scientists so that they might better assess, implement, and monitor their water resources systems. Physical laboratory studies were carried out and numerical models developed to plan and evaluate the performance of hydraulic structures and control channel erosion and sediment transport. Models were also developed to study water resources management for irrigation and drainage, and modeling tools were applied to evaluate flooding and draining system capacities at selected sites in Pakistan.
Major Results
- Established a teleconferencing facility for distance learning at Center of Excellence in Water Resources Engineering (CEWRE)
- Delivered graduate course led remotely by Dr. Chaudhry to 22 students in CEWRE and 8 students in Cairo University
- Trained CEWRE faculty on water-related software applications
- Involved visiting faculty from CEWRE in ongoing research at USC, with results published in refereed journals
- Organized workshops and seminars in Pakistan to disseminate the latest knowledge in water resources
- Led to CEWRE participation in two NSF-funded projects with USC totaling about 3 million dollars on modeling of levee breach and dam-break flows and collection of field data on levee breaches during 2010 floods in Pakistan
Progress Report Summaries
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2009 Show summary || Hide summary
After some procurement delays the equipment was installed and tested during the summer of 2009. Dr. Chaudhry's scheduled October 2008 visit to Lahore had to be postponed due to the security concerns, but he made the visit successfully in April 2009. During his stay he consulted with Dr. Latif on ongoing research projects, presented a workshop on modeling of free-surface and pressurized flows at UET Lahore, and led a seminar in at the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) attended by about 30 leading engineers and senior officials, including the Member, WAPDA.
Dr. Latif made a second visit to USC from late November through late December 2009, and another UET researcher, Assistant Professor Ghulam Nabi, arrived in mid-October for a four-month visit. So far, this US-Pakistani research team has had six joint papers published or accepted for publication, and three more were under review as of the end of 2009. Although their grant under this program has ended, they will be continuing their collaboration thanks to other funds they have secured from the US National Science Foundation. During the spring 2010 semester, they will be making use of the new distance learning capabilities established at UET when Dr. Chaudhry and Dr. Latif will co-organize a course for 10 graduate students from USC, 25 from UET, and another 25 from Cairo University.
2008 Show summary || Hide summary
Another UET researcher, Mr. Waqqas-ur-Rehman, visited South Carolina for two months beginning in January 2008. Part of his visit focused on the technical aspects of setting up the new distance learning infrastructure at UET. USC colleagues trained him on hardware installation and troubleshooting and helped him finalize the list of videoconferencing equipment that would be purchased by UET.
2007 Show summary || Hide summary
After waiting more than one year for his application to clear a security review, Dr. Latif finally received his US visa in June 2007. He and a colleague, Dr. S.M. Saeed Shah, visited USC in August and September 2007, during which they met with all USC faculty and staff members involved in the project and also visited the university’s audio-video facility for consultations on establishing the distance learning center at UET. Dr. Latif also had the opportunity to visit a farmer in eastern South Carolina to learn more about cotton irrigation using center pivot sprinklers. Dr. Latif also presented a seminar that was attended by the faculty and graduate students of Civil Engineering Department. Meanwhile, Dr. Shah worked with Dr. Michael Meadows from USC to plan activities in storm water management. U.S. co-investigator Dr. Jasim Imran of USC visited Pakistan in January 2007 to take part in a workshop on hydraulics and sediment transport in streams. During his visit, Dr. Imran also presented seminars and assisted with the development of pilot Internet-based courses, physical laboratory-based modeling, and mathematical sediment transport modeling.
2006 Show summary || Hide summary
Due to a visa delay experienced by Dr. Latif during 2006, the partners communicated during the first year of their project by telephone and e-mail to work out the details for undertaking various project tasks.
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