Biography
Growing up in rural Illinois, Robert developed a love of math and rocks which drew him to pursuing a geophysics degree at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. While in New Mexico, Robert developed an interest in water and stayed at New Mexico Tech to earn a masters degree in hydrology. Love and music pulled him to Austin, Texas, where he joined the Bureau of Economic Geology at The University of Texas at Austin. While there, he leveraged a hydrogeologic project for the Superconducting Supercollider into a Ph.D. on contaminant transport in fractured chalk. Robert then used his numerical groundwater modeling skills to develop the first groundwater availability model for Texas which led to a position at the Texas Water Development Board. Robert worked at the Board for 18 years where he rose to be Deputy Executive Administrator for Water Science and Conservation overseeing programs in groundwater resources and management, surface-water resources and environmental flows, water conservation, flood mitigation, and innovative technology including desalination, water reuse, aquifer storage and recovery, and rainwater harvesting. After retiring on Halloween in 2017, Robert joined The Meadows Center for Water and Environment and the Geography Department at Texas State University where he continues work on water issues for Texas.
Research Interests
groundwater governance, water resources, climate change and water resources
Teaching Interests
water and policy