Departmental Unit № 1
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering & IIHR—Hydroscience & Engineering
PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Water Resources / Environmental)
100% Full Funding Guaranteed (5 Years)
Funding Package: Full tuition covered + competitive 12-month stipend (~$30,000–$34,000/yr) + health/dental insurance via IIHR research fellowships and GRA positions at the Iowa Flood Center.
Fall Priority Deadline: January 15 (Fall Admission)
GRE Policy: Not required / Waived
English Minimums: TOEFL iBT 81 or IELTS 7.0
MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Thesis Option)
100% Full Funding Available for Thesis MS (Tuition + Stipend)
Funding Reality: IIHR—Hydroscience & Engineering regularly funds incoming thesis MS students on research assistantships (GRA) with full tuition waivers and stipends.
Application Deadline: January 15
Admissions Advisory: If full funding is required and MS is self-funded, students are strongly advised to apply directly to the PhD track.
Vetted Matched Scholars (2 Profiles)
Prof. Witold F. Krajewski
Rose & Joseph Summers Chair of Water Resources Engineering and Director, Iowa Flood Center
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
He leads the world-famous Iowa Flood Center, combining weather radar signals and hundreds of bridge sensors to predict exactly when and where rivers will overflow days before floodwaters hit.
Core Research Topics: Radar hydrology, flood forecasting, extreme precipitation modeling, real-time river streamflow networks, hydrometeorology.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Directing the Iowa Flood Center's statewide real-time hydrological forecasting network, integrating NEXRAD polarimetric radar precipitation with high-resolution distributed river routing models to predict flash floods across thousands of river miles (NSF / State of Iowa 2024–2026).
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: Polarimetric weather radar (NEXRAD), stream sensor telemetry, distributed hydrologic models (HL-RDHM), Python, C++, GIS.
Recruiting Context: Director of the Iowa Flood Center; global giant in radar hydrology and operational flood prediction.
Candidate Match:
HydrologyFlood StudiesRemote SensingGIS
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Discussing your interest in radar rainfall estimation, distributed hydrologic modeling, and real-time flood forecasting at the Iowa Flood Center."
Prof. David Cwiertny
William D. Ashton Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director, Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
He spins microscopic plastic fibers into ultra-fine nano-filters coated with reactive catalysts that trap and destroy toxic 'forever chemicals' and farm fertilizers in private drinking wells.
Core Research Topics: Emerging environmental contaminants, PFAS water treatment, electrospun reactive nanomembranes, agricultural nutrient runoff, drinking water policy.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Fabricating engineered electrospun nanofiber membranes functionalized with metal oxide catalysts for destructive removal of PFAS, antibiotics, and agricultural nitrates from rural well water (EPA STAR / NSF 2024–2026).
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: Electrospinning, LC-MS/MS, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), bench-scale membrane filtration cells, spectrophotometry, wet-lab water analysis.
Recruiting Context: Leading national authority on drinking water contaminant removal and agricultural water safety.
Candidate Match:
Environmental PollutionWater QualityWet Lab Environmental TestingEnvironmental Remediation
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Discussing your interest in emerging contaminant remediation, catalytic nanofiber membrane filtration, and LC-MS/MS water testing in the Cwiertny Group."