The announcement of Dr. Eagleson's selection as recipient of the James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award was made Wednesday, May 20, at the monthly faculty meeting by Professor Arnoldo C. Hax, chairman of the faculty selection committee. The other committee members were Professors Robert E. Jones, Sanjoy K. Mitter, John R. Myer and Ronald G. Prinn. It was established in 1971 as a tribute to the late Dr. Killian, MIT's 10th president and former chairman of the Corporation. The selection committee's citation noted that hydrologists seek to understand the excesses and deficits of water flows and to engineer ways to control them. But it is also one that requires careful observation and theoretical study that draws on fundamental ideas in fluid dynamics, climate science, geology, ecology, chemistry, statistics and predictability.
Hydrology embraces physical science, engineering, economics, political sciences and agriculture.
In this arena, Eagleson's research focuses on the tough questions. We need detailed hydrologic observations on regional and global scales which cannot practically be obtained by local in situ measurements. He also chaired the National Research Council Committee that recently produced an authoritative and imaginative strategy for the hydrologic sciences going into the next century. Professor Eagleson, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, is a recipient of many honors, including the International Hydrology Prize, the Horton Medal of the AGU and the Research Prize of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is the author of the widely used text, Dynamic Hydrology.