Shaleen Jain

Address: Civil & Environmental Engineering, 5711 Boardman Hall, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469

Bio:

My research focuses on understanding how the interplay of human and natural forces shapes water availability and distribution on watershed-to-regional scales. Observational and model-based studies are performed to inform water resources infrastructure design, decision-making and policy in a changing climate. This work involves use of decision-analysis, nonparametric, directional, and Bayesian statistical methods. Furthermore, my students and I utilize historical datasets and coupled global climate model ensemble simulations to understand the regional climatic variability and change.

Example projects include a study of adaptation strategies for Maine’s coastal communities, developing decision tools for lake-watershed systems, and the analysis of water use policy in Maine. Current studies seek to understand the nature of climate-hydrologic systems linkages in the following natural laboratories: northeastern United States, western North American region, Korean peninsula, African Sahel and the North Atlantic hurricane region.

Outreach efforts within my research group include development of programmable multimedia modules in the Scratch environment to promote creative learning. In collaboration with the k-12 schools in Maine and UMaine New Media Internet Technologies Laboratory, we are developing immersive learning approaches centered around watershed sustainability in middle school classrooms.

Teaching

CIE 100 Introduction to Civil Engineering (Fall term)

CIE 455 Hydrology (Fall term)

CIE 456 Groundwater Hydraulics and Hydrology (Spring term)

CIE 552 Physical Hydrology (Fall term, alternate years)

CIE 553 Water Resources Sustainability (Spring term,  alternate years)

CIE 598 Managing our Water Resources

Research Area:

Hydroclimatology, Climate Variability and Change, Environmental Flows, Hydrosystems Modeling, Adaptive Management, Decision Analysis, Sustainability Science, Programmable multimedia for k-12 STEM education