The Muenich Research Group works on developing, implementing, and evaluating practical engineering solutions and strategies, using an interdisciplinary team approach, to make agricultural and urban systems more sustainable with respect to water resources.
Since the passage of the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Endangered Species Act in the 1970s, as well as the implementation of many government programs to support conservation, the United States still faces major environmental problems. Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, harmful algal blooms in the Great Lakes and beyond, drought and flooding across the nation, habitat loss, and groundwater reservoir depletion are major examples of issues we still face. Many of these problems are expected to be exacerbated in the future due to increased demand to produce food, feed, and bioenergy, amongst other uncertainties. The loss of many ecosystem services has been driven by agricultural production and urban expansion, which often create negative feedback loops and lead to potentially unsustainable development, putting out nation and communities at risk. Addressing these problems requires interdisciplinary, data-driven research, as well as the involvement of communities that are impacted by these concerns.
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