Hometown: Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
Faculty mentor: Larry Weber, PhD, Edwin B. Green Chair in Hydraulics, professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering
Degree program and anticipated graduation date: PhD in civil and environmental engineering, May 2025

Kaleb Young is developing a flood-modeling framework that includes agricultural practices to improve flood forecasts for the state of Iowa and other highly agricultural regions. He is incorporating the effects of agricultural field drainage systems into the WRF-Hydro model, which the National Weather Service uses for streamflow forecasts across the country. His work can improve flood prediction, allowing better resource management and saving lives and money. Young has contributed to hydrologic modeling to assess flood management efforts for the Iowa Watershed Approach, a 5-year, statewide effort to enhance flood resilience. He also assisted Riverton, a small southwest Iowa town, in addressing local flooding challenges.

Young hopes to find a job in hydrology or water resources engineering that allows him to better the environment for the future.

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