James Saiers named the Clifton R. Musser Professor of Hydrology

James E. Saiers, newly named as the Clifton R. Musser Professor of Hydrology, studies natural processes and human activities that affect the quality and supply of freshwater. 

Saiers’ teaching and research involve various theoretical and applied aspects of surface water and groundwater hydrology. He is particularly interested in improving ways to predict the fate of contaminants and other chemicals that enter streams, wetlands, and groundwater aquifers. Some of his recent research projects focus on the water-quality impacts of fossil-fuel development, the transport of carbon and plant nutrients through watersheds, and the migration of radionuclides and metals in groundwater.   

A graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Saiers earned his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. He taught at Florida International University before joining the Yale faculty. Prior to his new post, his primary appointment at Yale was as professor of hydrology at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (F&ES). Since 2009, he has been associate dean of academic affairs at F&ES. He is also jointly appointed with Yale’s Department of Geology and Geophysics. 

Saiers is past editor of Geophysical Research Letters and associate editor of Water Resources Research. He has served on National Research Council committees on Everglades restoration and is currently is a member of EPA’s advisory board for the Study of the Effects of Hydraulic Fracturing of Drinking-Water Resources. Saiers has contributed dozens of research articles to edited volumes and professional journals and has been awarded numerous research grants from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, the United States Geological Survey, and private corporations. He is a member of the American Geophysical Union, the American Chemical Society, and the Geological Society of America.