Erich Hester, P.E., F.ASCE, who has contributed to the civil engineering profession over three decades in consulting engineering, academia, and government, has been named a fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction.
In the private sector, Hester developed designs for river restoration, flood control, stormwater control, and groundwater remediation using the latest university research for tribal, municipal, federal, and industrial clients. Decades later, these projects are still providing salmon habitat, flood protection, and clean water in the Seattle and San Francisco Bay areas.
This experience as a practicing engineer in turn informed his subsequent career in academia at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). In the classroom, his private sector experience lent credibility by providing real-world example designs and being able to convey with authority which equations students will actually use in practice, or how submitting their design late will affect their careers.
Hester has conducted groundbreaking research at Virginia Tech, particularly in the areas of river restoration, flood control, and improving watershed water quality. He helped introduce the concept of enhancing surface water–groundwater (hyporheic) exchange as part of river restoration to improve water quality through his now classic 2010 paper that has been cited hundreds of times. That paper and many that followed have helped form the basis of water quality crediting programs for river restoration such as those for the Chesapeake Bay.
He continues to lead in the field of river restoration engineering, more recently by creating frameworks for determining how the effects of multiple restoration projects add up in large watersheds. These ideas have been pivotal for solving stubborn challenges such as eutrophication in Chesapeake Bay and salmon recovery in the Columbia River Basin.
Finally, Hester has shared his knowledge from practice and research with policymakers. For example, he advised research and development funding decisions at the U.S. Department of Energy Water Policy Technologies Office in the area of river restoration, management, and hydropower. He also advised the Bonneville Power Administration on river restoration design, monitoring, and research needs for tributaries to the Columbia River.
