Hydro dept. floats to nation's top for 2nd time

The magazine's yearly survey of graduate departments across the nation placed the University of Arizona's Department of Hydrology and Water Resources on the top of its list, based on data from 1996.

The UA's hydrology program is larger and more diverse than any other in the country, said Vic Baker, UA hydrology department head. Undergraduate classes include subsurface hydrology, surface-water hydrology, water quality and chemistry and water resources. The hydrology major also studies ecology, atmospheric science and engineering.

"We're happy that the hydrology department gets this recognition but it's important for people to realize that this program is good because there are strong programs related to it," Baker said.

Baker said hydrology is the study of water on the surface of the Earth, underground and in the atmosphere.

"It's a very holistic, integrative field that is essential for the survival of life on Earth," he added.

About 120 graduate and 25 undergraduate students are in the UA's hydrology department, said Mary Nett, administrative secretary for the department.

While most universities' hydrology departments are part of the civil engineering program, the UA's water world offers a separate program and major, she said.

The UA's hydrology department became separate from the geology department in the 1970s, Baker said.

"The department has experienced a growth from the bottom up," he added.

Yesterday was El Dâiacute;a del Agua, a day for hydrology students and professors to participate in lectures and luncheons about their field of study, Nett said.

UA hydrology students said their program is an excellent one.

"I enjoy fieldwork. I came back to college to be an environmental engineer," said Nett, who took hydrology classes at the UA. "For me, the fieldwork helped me because, growing up here, I didn't have a working idea of water above ground or falling from the sky.

"They have really useful courses here," she added.

"There's great professors here with a lot of knowledge about their field," said John Villinski, a hydrology graduate student. "I can find out anything I want about hydrology here."