Interview with Dr. Desirée Tullos

Dr. Desirée Tullos, Ph.D., P.E., D.WRE, M.ASCE is an associate professor in the Department of Biological & Ecological Engineering at Oregon State University in Corvallis.  Desiree’s expertise is generally on water resources engineering, with an emphasis on sustainable river management. She is currently working on field and modeling studies of sediment dynamics of dam removal, fish use of turbulence around engineered log jams, reservoir operations under a warming climate, analysis of uncertainty in water resources modeling, flood forecasting and management in India, and mechanics of flow around dense vegetation.

Prior to arriving at OSU, she worked as engineering consultant on river restoration and stormwater management projects and conducted research as a postdoc for the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. At Oregon State University, Desirée teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in Systems Analysis, Ecohydraulic Engineering, River Engineering, and NonPoint Source Pollution. She has served as a peer reviewer for a variety of journals and proposal review panels, chaired conference sessions, served on a National Research Council committee. She received NSF's Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award in 2009, earned her PE in 2011, and was a Fulbright Scholar in Taiwan in 2011.

Desirée received her BSCE from University of Tennessee, Master of Civil Engineering from North Carolina State University and her PhD in Biological Engineering from NCSU.  Desirée achieved her D.WRE in spring 2014 and was recognized at the AAWRE 10^th Anniversary Ceremony in Portland, Oregon, this past June. In this feature, Desiree shares with AAWRE on her career path, her research, perspectives on leadership and her love of running.
 

Fun Facts

1. I am often “researching” rivers in my down time, from the seat of an oar raft.
2. My favorite river of the world: Nu River (China)
3. I started in engineering because I thought engineers got to do drafting by hand. Ironically, I have never drafted a single thing by hand.
4.  I’ve been trying to learn Chinese for nearly a decade. Mei ban fa.

Me in five words:

1. introvert
2. idealist
3. type-a
4. committed
5. excited