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Lu Liu

Lu Liu

Pronouns
she/her/hers
Position
  • Assistant Professor
Department
  • Civil Construction & Environmental Eng
The vision that drives my research is a world where the needs of present and future generations are being met in a way that humans thrive while conserving the planet’s life support systems. In the past, resources that support life such as energy, food, and water have been exploited, managed, and regulated independently, and without significant acknowledgement of the scale of impacts on natural systems. Over time we have realized that the conventional approach to manage resources is unsustainable in a world with rapid population growth and urbanization, aging engineered systems, threats of climate change, and lack of sustainable financial resources.

My research group seeks to address daunting questions at interface of water, energy, climate, and food systems with a collection of physical, statistical, and geospatial modeling tools that characterize the interactions between human and natural systems, assist long-term strategic resource planning, and resolve critical conflicts at the heart of the nexus.

Contact Info

Town Engr
813 Bissell Rd
Ames
,
IA
50011-1066

Education

  • B.S., Environmental Science, University of Oklahoma, 2010
  • M.S., Environmental Science, University of Oklahoma, 2012
  • Ph.D., Civil Engineering, University of Maryland, 2017

More Information

Research interests: 

  • Water-energy-climate nexus
  • Urban water sustainability
  • Human-natural system interactions
  • Climate change adaptations

Course teaching:

C E 574X – Integrated Assessment Modeling and Science-Policy Integration for Global Environmental Change

Course description: Overview of conceptual insights and quantitative analysis of global climate change with a focus on physical models and policy implications. State-of-the-art Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) within a context of water sustainability with implications to the energy, food, and environmental sectors. Water resources related environmental management and problem-solving under global change. Climate modeling and impacts of climate change on water, energy, and food systems. Application of Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) in understanding the water-energy-food nexus. National and international climate policy.