Victor Miguel Ponce
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Victor Miguel Ponce is professor of civil engineering at San Diego State University. His areas of expertise are: (1) hydrology, (2) surface water hydrology, (3) flood hydrology, (4) computational hydrology, (5) environmental hydrology, (6) hydrosedimentology, and (7) watershed management. He earned M.S. (1970) and Ph.D. (1976) degrees at Colorado State University, reached full professor rank at San Diego State in 1983, and held the office of department chair during the period 1989-92.
Dr. Ponce divides his time between teaching, research, consulting, and service. At San Diego State, he teaches Engineering Hydrology, Open Channel Hydraulics, and Civil Engineering Environmental Science at the undergraduate level, and Surface Water Hydrology, Computational Hydrology, and Environmental Hydrology at the graduate level. His extensive teaching, research, and consulting experience led to the publication of the textbook Engineering Hydrology: Principles and Practices (Prentice Hall, 1989). The textbook is being used in many universities in the United States, Canada, and other countries. The second edition will appear in 1998.
Dr. Ponce's current research activity is in the field of environmental hydrology. He recently completed a research project funded by the Charles S. Mott Foundation, of Flint, Michigan, to study the hydrologic and environmental impact of the Paraná- Paraguay Waterway, which comprises five countries in South America. The waterway project is currently being considered for funding by the Inter-American Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme. Other research interests are in the fields of flood hydrology and computational hydrology, with projects that have been funded by the USDA Soil Conservation Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Science Foundation, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
Dr. Ponce's international activities have been with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Commission of European Communities (CEC), and the Organization of American States (OAS). With UNDP, he completed two one-month assignments (January 1992 and December 1993) with the National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, India, on catchment hydrology and water yield. With CEC, he participated in the development of the Master Plan for the Rehabilitation of the Pirai River Basin, in Eastern Bolivia. This study included the development of computer models for the evaluation of sediment sources, yields, transport, and deposition. With OAS, he participated as part of the PLANVASF project, in the development of a computer model for the analysis of water demands in the São Francisco River Basin, in Central and Northeastern Brazil, including irrigation, flood control and hydropower.
Over the past 25 years, Dr. Ponce has authored more than 160 publications, 36 refereed journal publications, including a textbook, 60 proceedings papers, and 64 technical reports. Dr. Ponce has received several professional and faculty awards, including the prestigious national ASCE Karl E. Hilgard Hydraulics Prize. He has lectured extensively in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America, and is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
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