A. Salim Bawazir, associate professor of civil engineering at New Mexico State University, will be the featured speaker at the College of Engineering Annual Bromilow Lecture. Bawazir's lecture, entitled Evolution of Research in Water Resources Engineering at NMSU, will be held from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, in Thomas and Brown Hall, room 104 on the NMSU Las Cruces campus. All are welcome to attend and admission is free.

Bawazir will be honored at the event with the 2013 Frank Bromilow Award for Excellence in Research.

The presentation will focus on the evolution of water resources research focusing on where we have been, what we have learned and where we are going. The objective of the presentation is to show the progress made during the past decade and what we envision for future research in this field. The current and future applications of research outcomes as well as benefit to students will be presented.

Bawazir has distinguished himself in the field of water conservation and water resources management. Recent research has involved remote sensing of evapotranspiration to improve irrigation methods and natural methods to eradicate salt cedar, a highly invasive shrub that consumes valuable water supplies and strangles native vegetation.

He has worked on various research projects as principal investigator and co-principal investigator during the past decade, receiving more than $4.5 million in awards. Sources of funding are mainly from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation and Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Bawazir was recognized as the "Outstanding Conservationist for 2007" from the Sierra Soil and Water Conservation District of New Mexico. The Sierra SWCD chose Bawazir because of his work on evapotranspiration monitoring of salt cedar and other plant communities, which documented water savings from the control of salt cedar.

Bawazir received bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in civil engineering, all from NMSU. He was a research specialist at NMSU from 1998-2001 when he became a faculty member.

The Bromilow Lecture is held in recognition of Frank Bromilow's leadership and enhancement of the quality of faculty during his tenure as dean of the College of Engineering, a position he held from 1961 until his death in 1974.