Karletta Chief

Education: 

• Ph.D. 2007, Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona
• M.S. 2000, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University

Dr. Chief is a Distinguished Professor of University Outreach and Director of the Center for Indigenous Resilience at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ. The goal of her research is to improve our understanding, tools, and predictions of watershed hydrology, unsaturated flow in arid environments, and how natural and human disturbances affect soil hydrology through the use of physically based methods. Dr. Chief's research also focuses on how Indigenous communities will be affected by climate change and collaborated in an interdisciplinary group of scientists including hydrologists, system dynamic modelers, and social scientists to determine how hydrological models can be improved to identify and mitigate risks to these vulnerable populations. As an extension specialist, she works to bring relevant science to Native American communities in a culturally sensitive manner by providing hydrology expertise, transferring knowledge, assessing information needs, and developing applied science projects.

Environmental research interests - Hydrology and water resources, climate change, water quality, watershed characterization, environmental health, impacts to tribes and Native American communities, water policy, mining impacts