Dr. Wescoat served on the National Research Council's Committee on the Future of Irrigation in the Face of Competing Demands. His research interests include the historical and cultural geography of water management in the western U.S., and the spatial logic of western water law, policies, and institutions. He has conducted comparative analyses of water policy issues in the Colorado, Indus, and Aral Sea basins. Dr. Wescoat received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in geography from the University of Chicago.