Dano Wilusz, MPP
PhD Candidate
Whiting School of Engineering
Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering
Johns Hopkins University
500 Ames Hall / 3400 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218
Email: [email protected]
Google Scholar / ResearchGate / LinkedIn
Research Interests
Topics:
Watershed hydrology
Water quality
Water resources management
Climate change
Tools and methods:
Watershed modeling
Statistical inference and prediction
GIS and remote sensing
Public policy analysis
Educational Background
Johns Hopkins University, Master of Environmental Engineering, 2016
University of California at Berkeley, Master of Public Policy, 2006
Cornell University, Bachelor of Science with Honors in Applied and Engineering Physics, 1999
Publications
Wilusz, D. C., C. J. Harman, W. P. Ball (2017). Sensitivity of catchment transit times to rainfall variability under present and future climates. Water Resources Research, 53. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017WR020894.
Wilusz, D. C., B. F. Zaitchik, M. C. Anderson, C. R. Hain, M. T. Yilmaz, I. E. Mladenova (2017). Monthly flooded area classification using low resolution SAR imagery in the Sudd wetland from 2007 to 2011. Remote Sensing of Environment, 194, 205-218.
Wilusz, D.C., “Quantitative indicators for common property land tenure security.” Published by the International Land Coalition. (2009). Available here for download.
Presentations
Wilusz, D. C., D. Fuka, C. Cho, W. P. Ball, Z. M. Easton, C. J. Harman, “Using StorAge Selection Functions to Improve Simulation of Groundwater Nitrate Lag Times in the SWAT Modeling Framework”, presentation and ePoster at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, December 11-15, New Orleans, LA; ( 2017). Invited talk.
Wilusz, D. C., “The sensitivity of catchment transit times to rainfall variability under present and future climates: novel applications of StorAge Selection functions,” UC Boulder Graduate Student Seminar, October 5, Boulder, CO; (2017).
Fang, Z., R. Carroll, C. J. Harman, D. C. Wilusz, R. Schumer, “Effects of seasonal snowmelt and precipitation on alpine watershed transit time distributions”, American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, December 11-15, New Orleans, LA; (2017).
Wilusz, D. C., R. M. Maxwell, A. Buda, W. P. Ball, C. J. Harman, “How does spatial variability in rainfall and ET affect catchment flow velocities?”, Gordon Research Seminar, June 24-25, Bates College, Lewiston, ME; (2017).
Wilusz, D. C., “The sensitivity of catchment transit times to rainfall variability under present and future climates,” Johns Hopkins University Environmental Engineering and Sciences Seminar, April 25, Baltimore, MD; (2017).
Harman, C. J., S. Putnam, C. Cossans, D. C. Wilusz, “Flushing the Saprolite: baseflow and quickflow aqe variability in the streamflow of a deeply-weathered Piedmont watershed”, 66th Annual Geological Society of America (GSA) Southeastern Section Meeting, March 30-31, Richmond, VA; (2017).
Wilusz, D. C., W. P. Ball, C. J. Harman, “Modeling the sensitivity of shallow subsurface catchment transit times to rainfall variability under present and future climate,” American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, December 12-16, San Francisco, CA; (2016). Invited talk.
Wilusz, D. C., C. J. Harman, W. P. Ball, “A statistical approach to regionalizing lumped parameter transit time model parameters in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed”, 2015 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, November 1-4, Baltimore, MD; (2015).
Wilusz, D. C., C. J. Harman, W. P. Ball, “Exploring the influence of climate variability on transit times in a small temperate watershed at Plynlimon, Wales, from 1983-2008”, Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) 2015 Conference, June 13-16, Yale University, New Haven, CT; (2015). Student presentation award winner.
Wilusz, D. C., C. J. Harman, W. P. Ball, “The modeling of time-varying stream water age distributions: preliminary investigations with non-conservative solutes”, American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, December 15-19, San Francisco, CA; (2014).
Wilusz, D. C., “Modeling the terrestrial effects of climate change on nutrient loading to the Chesapeake Bay“, Chesapeake Bay Program Modeling Quarterly Review, July 23, Annapolis, MD; (2013).
Wilusz, D. C., “The U.S. Government’s global WASH strategy: an overview for researchers”, Johns Hopkins University Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Collective Meeting, May, Baltimore, MD; (2013).
Wilusz, D. C., “Cookstoves’ coming of age: A case-study of science-based advocacy for environmental health”, Johns Hopkins University Thursday Environmental Engineering and Chemistry Series, April, Baltimore, MD; (2013).
Posters
Wilusz, D. C., R. M. Maxwell, A. Buda, W. P. Ball, C. J. Harman, , “What Can Catchment Transit Time Distributions Tell Us About Runoff Mechanisms? Exploring “Age Equifinality“ with an Integrated Surface-Groundwater Model “, American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, December 11-15, New Orleans, LA; (2017).
Wilusz, D. C., R. M. Maxwell, A. Buda, W. P. Ball, C. J. Harman, , “Can a simple lumped parameter model simulate complex transit time distributions? Benchmarking experiments in a virtual watershed“, American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, December 14-18, San Francisco, CA; (2016). Outstanding student poster award winner.
Wilusz, D. C., R. M. Maxwell, A. Buda, W. P. Ball, C. J. Harman, , “The accuracy of steady-state transit time estimates in a non-steady climate: Modeling experiment setup in a Valley and Ridge agricultural watershed“, 2016 CUAHSI Biennial Colloquia on Water Science, July 24-27, Shepherdstown, WV; (2016).
Ball, W. P., L. Wainger, C. J. Harman, D. Brady, A. Ortiz-Bobea, M. W. Kemp, J. M. Testa, L. Murray, D. C. Wilusz, “Project Overview: Impacts of Climate Change on the Phenology of Linked Agriculture-Water Systems”, 2016 Water Sustainability and Climate NSF Investigator Meeting, March 9-11 , Arlington, VA; (2016).
Wilusz, D. C., C. J. Harman, W. P. Ball, “Implications of an “inverse storage effect” (ISE) on the sensitivity of watershed transit times to rainfall variability at Plynlimon, Wales ”, American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, December 14-18, San Francisco, CA, Abstract H21F-1434; (2015).
Wilusz, D. C., C. J. Harman, W. P. Ball, “Modeling the linkages between transit time distributions and climate variability: opportunities and challenges in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed“, Geological Society of America (GSA) Northeastern Section 50th Annual Meeting, March 23-25, Bretton Woods, NH, Paper No. 58-4; (2015).
Wilusz, D. C., M. Anderson, C. Hain, T. Yilmax, B. Zaitchik, “Towards continuous, remote estimates of flooded area in the Sudd Wetland, South Sudan“, UCOWR/NIWR/CUAHSI Annual Conference, June 17-19, Tufts University, Medford, MA; (2014).
Prosser, E., J. Berger, P. Desai, A. Goel, E. Marble, A. Mullen, H. Normile, R. Spellissy, D. C. Wilusz, J. Zheng, W. P. Ball, “Sustainable irrigation in South Africa: optimizing design and maintenance of the Alcock Ram Pump“, National Sustainable Design Expo, April, Washington, DC; (2013). Honorable mention award winner.
Wilusz, D. C., W. P. Ball, “Simulating the effects of intra-monthy rainfall variability on Chesapeake Bay water quality under a changing climate”, Chesapeake Modeling Symposium (ChesMS), May 28-29, Annapolis, MD; (2014).
Press
Ballato, Alexandra. (2013, March 28). “Students for environmental action screen water pollution movie“. The Johns Hopkins News-Letter (Baltimore, MD), p. 2. Article viewable online at http://www.jhunewsletter.com/2013/03/28/students-for-environmental-action-screen-water-pollution-movie-84146/.
Sneiderman, Phil. (2013, April 16). “Two JHU student engineering teams vie for EPA sustainability grants“. The Hub – Johns Hopkins Online News Network (Baltimore, MD). Article viewable at http://hub.jhu.edu/2013/04/16/engineering-sustainability-grants.
Fellowships and Awards
AGU Outstanding Student Paper Award, 2016
GSA Student Research Grant, 2016
Presentation Award, 2015 AEESP Bi-annual Conference, 2015
Honorable Mention, EPA P3 Grant Proposal Competition, 2013
NSF IGERT: Water, Climate, and Health Fellowship, 2013-2015
JHU Department Fellowship, 2012-2013
UC Berkeley Goldman Fellowship, 2004-2006
Cornell Tradition Fellowship, 1995-1999
Biography
Dano Wilusz is a fifth-year PhD student in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering. Under the guidance of Assistant Professor Ciaran Harman, with co-advising by Professor Bill Ball, he is developing watershed models that practitioners can use to simulate the terrestrial effects of climate change on water quality. Before returning to graduate school, Dano was a lead Foreign Affairs Officer covering water security and environmental health issues at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC. He held various other posts during his six years with the Department including Presidential Management Fellow; Special Advisor to the President’s Malaria Initiative at the U.S. Agency for International Development; and Environment, Science, Technology, and Health Advisor to the U.S. Embassies to Bolivia and India. Before entering the civil service, Dano developed and installed semiconductor equipment for a Fortune 500 technology firm. He received a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Applied and Engineering Physics from Cornell University in 1999, a Master of Public Policy from the University of California at Berkeley in 2006, and a certificate from the CDC’s Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute in 2012. He currently resides in Baltimore, MD, with frequent visits to his hometown in Burlington, CT.