MUN

Department of Civil Engineering

Joseph Daraio, Ph.D., P.Eng.

JD

Associate Professor, Deputy Head

Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, NL A1B 3X5, Canada
Tel: (709) 864-2756, E-mail: jadaraio@mun.ca
Room: ER 4017 (Earth Sciences Building)

Biography

Dr. Daraio earned his PhD in civil and environmental engineering-hydraulics at the University of Iowa in 2009. He received his bachelor’s degree in forest and environmental biology from the SUNY, College of Environmental Science and Forestry (1991), and has masters’ degrees in biology (1994), philosophy (1998), and environmental engineering (2002). His primary interests lie in the potential impacts of climate change on storm water infrastructure and interdisciplinary research that links hydrology, hydraulics and ecology.

Prior to joining Memorial, he was an Associate professor of water resources engineering at Rowan University in New Jersey (2012-2015) where he worked on the potential impacts of climate change on local water resources. He also worked as a postdoctoral research scholar at North Carolina State University (contracted with the USGS in Reston, VA, 2010-2012), where he developed models to simulate the effects of land-use change and climate change on watershed hydrology and instream temperature to assess potential long-term effects on aquatic organisms. Joe has made significant contributions through his research in hydro-ecology and eco-hydraulics including model development, methodology, and how to use and integrate hydrodynamic and hydraulic models with biological models. He also worked as a hydraulic engineer on river restoration and dam removal projects with the US Bureau of Reclamation from 2002-2004.

Joe has also published work on climate change impacts using hydrologic simulations to assess potential response of stream flow, storm water related infrastructure, and is developing new methods with which to incorporate climate change uncertainty into infrastructure design. He is working with the Government of NL on a Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) funded project to build adaptive capacity through technical training of professional engineers in this area. The NRCan project provides a direct means of knowledge transfer of results from research to practise which has been done through a series of workshops held in St. John’s on Building Climate Resilience.

Education

2009        Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering - Hydraulics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
2002        M.S., Environmental Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
1998         M.S., Philosophy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
1994         M.S., Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
1991         B.S., Environmental and Forest Biology, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry Iowa City, Syracuse, NY
1989        A.S., Liberal Arts and Science/Mathematics and Science, State University of New York Rockland Community College, Suffern, NY

Work Experience

2015 – Present        Associate Professor, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Department of Civil Engineering
2012 - 2015              Associate Professor, Rowan University, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
2010 - 2012              Postdoctoral Research Scholar, North Carolina State University, Department of Biology
2009 - 2010             Postdoctoral Research Associate, Tennessee Technological University
2010                          Adjunct Professor, Tennessee Technological University, Department of Earth Sciences
2009                         Postdoctoral Research Scholar, University of Iowa, IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering
2004 - 2009            Research Associate, University of Iowa, IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering
2007 - 2008            Instructor, University of Iowa, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
2006                         Hydraulic Engineer, WL-Delft Hydraulics, Delft, The Netherlands
2002 - 2004            Instructor, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Sedimentation and River Hydraulics Group
2000 - 2002            Research Associate, University of Connecticut, Environmental Research Institute
2001                          Teaching Associate, University of Connecticut, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
1998 - 1999              Teaching Associate, University of Connecticut, Department of Philosophy
1996 - 1998              Teaching/Research Associate, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Department of Philosophy, Psychology, and Cognitive Science
1994 - 1995              Research Specialist, New Mexico State University, USDA-ARS, Jornada Experimental Range
1994                          Research Associate, New Mexico State University, Department of Fishery and Wildlife Sciences
1992 - 1993              Research Assistant, New Mexico State University, Department of Biology

Memberships

  • Professional Engineers and Geoscientists Newfoundland and Labrador (PEGNL), License number 08566
  • Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, CSCE, Member
    • Member of the Executive Committee for the Newfoundland & Labrador Branch (2017 - )
    • Faculty/Student Advisor to the MUN Student Section of CSCE (2018 - )
    • Treasurer, Newfoundland & Labrador Branch (2017 - 2018)
  • Canadian Water Resources Association, CWRA
  • American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE, Member
  • American Meteorological Society, AMS
  • American Geophysical Union, AGU
  • American Water Resources Association, AWRA
  • International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research, IAHR

Professional and Community Service

  • Land Stewardship Committee for O'Brien's Farm in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Society (2018 - )
  • Steering committee for workshop on \Building and Sustaining Infrastructure Resilience in NL through Climate Adaptation Training for Professionals." (November 2017 - )
  • Reviewer for Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, Water Research, Journal of the North American Benthological Society, Applied Mathematical Modelling, Freshwater Science, Water Resources Research, Freshwater Biology, Open Water Journal, Ecological Modelling, Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, Science of the Total Environment
  • Storm Water Committee for O'Brien's Farm in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Society (2016)
  • AWRA, Future Risks Committee (2014 - 2015)
  • New Jersey section of AWRA, Stormwater Committee (2013 - 2015)
  • President, Students of IIHR (2004 - 2005); liaison between IAHR and students at IIHR; organized IIHR student seminar series, the IIHR annual holiday party, and numerous social events.

Scholarships & Awards

2020        CHI University Grant Program Award, Computational Hydraulics Int.
2013         Alliance for Action's 2013 Distinguished Engineering Award, Computational Hydraulics Int.
2013         2013 ASCE ExCEEd Teaching Fellow
2009        Best Student Poster Award, Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society
2005        Summer and Short-Term Study Abroad Scholarship, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
2003        Recognition Award, United States Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation