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Water Resources/Irrigation Specialist Simon van Donk

Simon van Donk
Assistant Professor
Water Resources / Irrigation Specialist

Office Location:
Office Address:

Phone:
Fax:
Email:

West Central Research and Extension Center
402 West State Farm Road
North Platte, NE 69101
(308) 696-6709
(308) 696-6780
svandonk2@unl.edu

 

Research and Extension Interests

Water resource management for sustaining agriculture with an emphasis on measuring and modeling evapotranspiration in various irrigation, cropping, and tillage systems.

Selected Publications:

  • Tarkalson, D. D., van Donk, S. J. and Petersen, J. L. (2009). Effect of nitrogen application timing on corn production using subsurface drip irrigation. Soil Science174: 174-179.
  • van Donk, S.J., Martin, D. L., Irmak, S., Melvin, S. R., and Petersen, J. L. Effect of crop residue on soil water content and yield of sprinkler-irrigated corn. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting, Providence, Rhode Island, June 29 - July 2, 2008 (Paper No. 08-4724).
  • van Donk, S.J., Liao, C. and Skidmore, E. L. (2008). Using temporally limited wind data in the Wind Erosion Prediction System. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers 51(5) : 1585-1590.
  • van Donk, S.J., Merrill, S. D., Tanaka, D. L. and Krupinsky, J. M. 2008. Crop Residue in North Dakota: Measured and Simulated by the Wind Erosion Prediction System. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers 51(5) : 1623-1632.
  • Van Donk, S. J., Wagner, L. E., Skidmore, E. L., & Tatarko, J. (2005). Comparison of the Weibull model with measured wind speed distributions for stochastic wind generation. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, 48(2): 503-510.
  • Van Donk, S. J., Tollner, E. W., Steiner, J. L., & Evett, S. R. (2004). Soil temperature under a dormant Bermudagrass mulch: simulation and measurement. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, 47(1): 91-98.
  • Van Donk, S. J., & Skidmore, E. L. (2003). Measurement and simulation of wind erosion, roughness degradation and residue decomposition on an agricultural field. Earth Surface Processes and Landform,. 28(11): 1243-1258.
  • Van Donk, S. J., Huang, X., Skidmore, E. L., Anderson, A. B., Gebhart, D. L., Prehoda, V. E., & Kellogg, E. M. (2003). Wind erosion from military training lands in the Mojave Desert, California, USA. Journal of Arid Environments, 54(4): 687-703.
  • Van Donk, S. J., & Skidmore, E. L. (2001). Field experiments for evaluating wind erosion models. Annals of Arid Zone, 40(3): 281-302.
  • Van Donk, S. J., Tollner, E. W., & McDonald, S. P. (2001). Development of hot/cold plate apparatus for determining heat transport mechanisms in mulch materials. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, 44(6): 1479-1488.
  • Van Donk, S. J., & Tollner, E. W. (2000). Apparent thermal conductivity of mulch materials exposed to forced convention. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, 43(5): 1117-1127.
  • Van Donk, S. J., and Tollner, E. W. (2000). Measurement and modeling of heat transfer mechanisms in mulch materials. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, 43(4): 919-925.

Honors and Awards:

  • United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Agricultural Research Service (ARS) award in special recognition for contributions to the Wind Erosion Prediction System Weather, Residue Decomposition, and Hydrology submodels. 2005
  • USDA-ARS awards for superior performance. 2000 - 2005
  • Award for the outstanding water resources, Ph.D. dissertation in the field of natural science and engineering. Honorable Mention. Presented by the Universities Council on Water Resources Research Committee. 2000

Education:

  • Ph.D., Biological and Agricultural Engineering. University of Georgia, USA, 1999.
  • M.S., Agricultural Engineering. University of Wageningen, the Netherlands, 1985.
  • B.S., Agricultural Engineering. University of Wageningen, the Netherlands, 1982.

Professional Experience:

  • Assistant Professor – Water Resources/Irrigation Engineer, University of Nebraska, Department of Biological Systems Engineering, North Platte, NE. (March 2007 – Present).
  • Agricultural Engineer, United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service - Wind Erosion Research Unit, Manhattan, KS, (1999 – March 2007).
  • Graduate Research Assistant/Ph.D. Candidate, The University of Georgia, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Athens, GA, (1994 – 1999).
  • Consultant, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Rome, Italy, (1993 – 1994).
  • Agrometeorologist, Hughes STX Corporation (Contractor United States Geological Survey), Sioux Falls, SD. Stationed at the AGRHYMET Center, Niamey, Niger, West Africa, (1989 – 1993).
  • Research Associate, Kansas State University, Department of Agronomy, Manhattan, KS. (1987 – 1989).
  • System Designer, Programmer, Agricultural Information Systems (AGIS), Harmelen, the Netherlands, (1986 – 1987).

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