UND researcher wins NSF CAREER award
Taufique Mahmood recognized as especially promising geologist who’s now early in his career
An NSF CAREER proposal by Taufique Mahmood received more than $440,000 from the National Science Foundation.
Mahmood is an associate professor in the Harold Hamm School of Geology & Geological Engineering at UND’s College of Engineering & Mines. His proposal, “EAR-Climate: Impacts of Recent Wetting on Cold Region Hydrologic Change in the Northern Great Plains,” will help scientists better understand future hydroclimatic changes by studying the past behavior of five headwater basins that drain into Devils Lake.
Using the NSF grant, UND researchers will study the relationship between surface water storage and hydrologic processes during a complete dry-to-wet — “drought to deluge” — or wet-to-dry — “deluge to drought” — cycle. In addition, the study will conduct a series of field-based cold region hydrology workshops for Native American high school students and summer research for Tribal College students.
Taufique Mahmood
These activities will develop baseline data for future climate change studies for the tribal communities, inspire Native American students in snow-and-water-resources research, and raise community awareness about water security and quality under a changing climate.
“Dr. Mahmood’s research will help us better understand hydrologic processes in this region and allow us to make better predictions in the future,” said Brian Tande, dean of the College of Engineering & Mines at UND.
“We are very proud that he is being recognized by the NSF for this important work.”
The National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development or CAREER Program offers the Foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their organization.
“I am excited and looking forward to starting the project,” said Mahmood.
Mahmood collaborates with Native American communities across North Dakota and has extensive experience working with the Native American graduate students and tribal college students (NATURE summer camps) at UND. Prior to joining UND, he was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Saskatchewan.
His group’s research has been searching for the answers to critical science questions in cold and continental climates of Northern Great Plain, Rocky Mountain Range and High Mountain Asia using field-based and remotely sensed observations high-resolution physically-based modeling.
