Ben Liu

Email:bml33@cornell.edu
Phone: 607-255-0185
Office: 165 Riley Robb Hall
Advisor: Tammo Steenhuis
Degree Program: M.S.
Year: 2006

Currently in my first year of study towards a terminal M.S. So far most of my research has been computer modeling but I can't say that my focus is just that yet. Hopefully later this year I will be able to study arid hydrology processes related to infiltration in Ethiopia. I also really like soup. And other things.

Projects

• Upstate NY Pesticide Risk Analysis (completed)
  A joint project with the Water Resources Insitute, we combined various datasets in a Geographic Information System (GIS) to find where areas of high pesticide use coincided with a population dependent on groundwater drinking supplies.

• Poinsietta Habitat Project (completed)
  To analyze the poinsietta's habitat-adjusting capability, I grafted a branch into a soil with heavy metals. Unfortunately the owners of that particular soil column disagreed with the study so threw my experiment in the trash.

• Replicating Complex Soil Moisture Patterns with a Physically Based Distributed Model (nearing completion)
  The Soil Moisture Distribution and Routing (SMDR) model was developed for the NorthEast United States, where shallow soils with significant slopes often dominate the landscape. Steve Shaw and I are validating this model and performing a sensitivity analysis on the extensive data collected from the Tarrawarra watershed in Australia.

• Hydrologic Stream Buffer Tool (almost completed)
  To assist with the management of non-point source pollution to streams, I am creating a GIS tool to predict which land areas bordering streams generate the most runoff. This will be a simple extension of the Variable Source Hydrology (VSA) concepts previously developed by the Soil & Water Lab.