USDA Research Hydrologist, A-State Professor To Speak About Career In Government
JONESBORO — Dr. Michele Reba, a research hydrologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, will talk about her career in the federal and state government Wednesday, March 4, at 1 p.m. in Wilson Hall, Room 412, at Arkansas State University.
Reba is in the unique position of working for the federal government in Arkansas, rather than in Washington, D.C., and of being affiliated with a state university. She doubles as an affiliate assistant professor in the College of Engineering, the College of Agriculture and Technology, and the Department of Biology at A-State.
She will talk about how to get a job with the federal government, the difference between working for the public and private sector, leadership across multi-cultural populations and the importance of clear communication in public service, among other topics.
Her talk is part of the “Career Conversations” events sponsored by A-State’s Master of Public Administration (MPA) program, overseen by the Department of Political Science. These events give students and others an opportunity to learn about careers in government and organizations.
In her position as a research hydrologist with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service-Delta Water Management Research Unit in Jonesboro, she has her laboratory and office on the Jonesboro campus. She is currently researching how to preserve water availability and water quality for agriculture in the lower Mississippi River basin. In that capacity, Reba works closely with researchers and producers to answer research questions associated with water management, water quality and the impact of conservation practices. She also studies water resources modeling, snow hydrology and eddy covariance.
Reba received her Bachelor of Science degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Michigan, her Master of Science in forest hydrology and civil engineering from Oregon State University, and her Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Idaho. She has studied water resource issues in the western United States, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Antarctica.
She has extensive experience in the public and private sector. She has also worked with the USDA in the Northwest Watershed Research Center in Boise, Idaho; as an affiliate professor in civil engineering at the University of Idaho; as a water resources engineer with a private water environment contractor, DHI Water and Environment, Inc. in Boise; as a hydrologist in the Fremont-Winema National Forest in Paisley, Ore., as a surveyor for the Amundsen-Scott South Pole station in Antarctica; and as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic. She is the author of 14 referred publications.
A-State students, and especially MPA students, are strongly encouraged to attend. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Barbara Warner at (870) 972-2196 or through email at bwarner@astate.edu.
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