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Erich T. Hester

Professor

Erich T. Hester

Erich T. Hester, Professor
220-D Patton Hall
Blacksburg, VA, USA 24061
Mail Code: (0105)

Program Area : Environmental and Water Resources Engineering
Personal Homepage : http://www.flow.cee.vt.edu/index.html
Professional Registration : Professional Engineer (Civil Engineering): Virginia, Washington State
ehester(at)vt.edu
(540) 231-9758

Biography

A complete CV is available.

Areas of Interest

Hydrology, hydraulics, environmental fluid mechanics, groundwater, surface water-groundwater exchange, hyporheic exchange, floodplain exchange
Ecology and ecological restoration of streams, rivers, and wetlands
River corridor infrastructure management
Pollutant migration and transformation in aquatic systems
Hydropower

  • AB, Dartmouth College, Biology, 1992
  • MS, Stanford University, Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1998
  • PhD, University of North Carolina, Ecology, 2008
  • Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Richland, WA), Chief Engineer and Joint Appointment from Virginia Tech, 2025-present
  • University of Idaho, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (Boise ID), Adjunct Professor, 2024-present
  • Bonneville Power Administration (Portland OR), Detail/Rotation from US DOE, 2023-2024
  • U.S. Dept of Energy, Water Power Technologies Office (Washington DC), AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow, 2022-2024
  • National Taiwan University (Taipei Taiwan), Fulbright Senior Scholar, 2017-2018
  • Herrera Environmental Consultants (Seattle WA), Ecological Restoration Engineer, 2002-2003
  • Philip Williams and Associates (San Francisco CA), Water Resources Engineer, 2001-2002
  • LFR (Emeryville CA), Project Engineer, 1998-2001
  • Ecology and Environment (San Francisco CA), Staff Scientist, 1993-1995
  • Alumni Teaching Excellence Award, Virginia Tech Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Board of Directors, CUAHSI
  • Associate Editor, Water Resources Research
  • Licensed Professional Engineer: Washington State, Virginia
  • U.S. EPA STAR Graduate Fellowship
  • UNC Kenan Fellowship
  • CEE 2804: Introduction to Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • CEE 3314: Water Resources Engineering
  • CEE 4334: Hydraulic Structures
  • CEE 5344: Surface Water-Groundwater Interaction
  • Federman, C.E., D.T. Scott, and E.T. Hester. 2023. Impact of floodplain and Stage 0 stream restoration on flood attenuation and floodplain exchange during small frequent storms. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 59:29–48.
  • Monterroso, H., M. A. Widdowson, W. S. Lotts, K. B. Strom, and E. T. Hester. 2024. Effects of boundary hydraulics, dissolved oxygen, and dissolved organic carbon on growth and death dynamics of aerobic microbes in riverbed dune-induced hyporheic zones. Science of the Total Environment 906:167401.
  • Calfe, M.L., D.T. Scott, Hester, E.T. 2022. Nitrate removal by watershed-scale hyporheic stream restoration: Modeling approach to estimate effects and patterns at the stream network scale. Ecological Engineering 175:106498.
  • Hester, E.T., K.Y. Santizo, A.A. Nida, and M.A. Widdowson. 2021. Hyporheic transverse mixing zones and dispersivity: Laboratory and numerical experiments of hydraulic controls. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 243: 103885.
  • Hester, E.T., A.Y.-C. Lin, and C.W. Tsai. 2020. Effect of floodplain restoration on photolytic removal of pharmaceuticals. Environmental Science & Technology 54, 3278-3287.
  • Lotts, W.S., and E.T. Hester. 2020. Filling the void: the effect of streambank soil pipes on transient hyporheic exchange during a peak flow event. Water Resources Research 56(2), e2019WR025959.
  • Hester, E.T., and G.A. Fox. 2020. Preferential flow in riparian groundwater: Gateways for watershed solute transport and implications for water quality management. Water Resources Research 56: e2020WR028186.
  • Hester, E.T., K.L. Little, J.D. Buckwalter, C.E. Zipper, and T.J. Burbey. 2019. Variability of subsurface structure and infiltration hydrology among surface coal mine valley fills. Science of the Total Environment 651:2648–2661.
  • Hester, E.T., K.E. Brooks and D.T. Scott. 2018. Comparing reach scale hyporheic exchange and denitrification induced by instream restoration structures and natural streambed morphology. Ecological Engineering 115:105-121.
  • Greer, B.M., T.J. Burbey, C.E. Zipper, and E.T. Hester. 2017. Electrical resistivity imaging of preferential flow through surface coal mine valley fills with comparison to other landforms. Hydrological Processes 31(12):2244-2260.
  • Rana, SM.M., D.T. Scott, and E.T. Hester. 2017. Effects of in-stream structures and channel flow rate variation on transient storage. Journal of Hydrology 548:157-169.
  • Hester, E.T., B. Hammond, and D.T. Scott. 2016. Effects of inset floodplains and hyporheic exchange induced by in-stream structures on nitrate removal in a headwater stream. Ecological Engineering 97:452-464.
  • Little, J. C., E.T. Hester, and C.C. Carey. 2016. Assessing and enhancing environmental sustainability - A conceptual review. Environmental Science & Technology 50(13):6830-6845.
  • Azinheira, D.L., D.T. Scott, W.C. Hession, and E.T. Hester. 2014. Comparison of effects of inset floodplains and hyporheic exchange induced by in-stream structures on solute retention. Water Resources Research 50(7):6168-6190.
  • Menichino, G.T., A.S. Ward, and E.T. Hester. 2014. Macropores as preferential flow paths in meander bends. Hydrological Processes. 28(3): 482-495.
  • Hester, E.T., K.I. Young, and M.A. Widdowson. 2013. Mixing of surface and groundwater induced by riverbed dunes: implications for hyporheic zone definitions and pollutant reactions. Water Resources Research. 49: 5221-5237.
  • Hester, E.T., and J.C. Little. 2013. Measuring environmental sustainability of water in watersheds. Environmental Science & Technology. 47(15): 8083-8090.
  • Hester, E.T., and K.S. Bauman. 2013. Stream and retention pond thermal response to heated summer runoff from urban impervious surfaces. Journal of the American Water Resources Association. 49(2): 328-342.