Outstanding Faculty Researcher Award
This is an alternating award given every 3 years to a faculty member who has excelled in teaching, research, or advisory service.
This year's winner of the Outstanding Faculty Advisory Service Award is Dr. Jian Shen.
Dr. Jian Shen has worked for 3 decades to develop numerical computer models to simulate circulation, water quality, and storm surge in estuaries, and to apply those models to inform management decisions.
Since arriving at VIMS in 1990 to pursue a Master’s and Ph.D. degree, Jian has been part of a multi-generational effort to develop and refine the modeling capabilities that underpin our advisory mission. A member of the VIMS faculty since 2002, Jian is now training the next generation of modelers and imparting his experience in applying models to societal issues.
The development and implementation of Total Maximum Daily Loads for various pollutants have been key to the success of Chesapeake Bay restoration. Effective implementation of this approach relies on the use of coupled watershed and estuarine models to guide pollution-reduction strategies. Jian has developed and run more than 100 such modeling studies, which have guided pollution-reduction actions throughout the Chesapeake Bay region. He has played a central role in advising the Commonwealth on a wide range of issues, including the siting of desalination plants, water withdrawals, and discharges for municipal water supplies and manufacturing plants; as well as the gauging of water-quality impacts due to modifications of tidal creeks.
In all these endeavors Jian epitomizes VIMS’ commitment to bringing rigorous science-based advice to the Commonwealth and its citizens.