In 2008, devastating floods across the Midwest left Iowa with an estimated $10 billion in damage. In Cedar Rapids alone, 5,200 homes were damaged or destroyed after two weeks of historic rainfall.

Recurring flooding and water quality woes that have hampered rivers around Iowa and beyond prompted Cedar Rapids to take a different approach to the Cedar River, which is the city's primary source of drinking water and essential to core industries.

Navid Jadidoleslam, a PhD student in Civil and Environmental Engineering, has published two papers in the Journal of Hydrology. Jadidoleslam is also part of two college research centers - the Iowa Flood Center and IIHR—Hydroscience & Engineering.