Editor’s Note

I am pleased to introduce our invited paper for this issue. This paper is entitled “Comparison of Spatial Interpolation Methods for Water Quality Evaluation in the Chesapeake Bay” and has been authored by Rebecca R. Murphy, Frank C. Curriero, and William P. Ball. This paper provides valuable insight into spatial interpolation methods, particularly as applied to surface water systems.

Rebecca Murphy is a doctoral student in the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). She is working with Dr. William Ball as the project manager for a multi-institutional effort to develop a Chesapeake Bay Environmental Observatory as a prototype system for integrated use of data, models, and analysis tools for research and management. Her doctoral research focuses on developing and applying methods that integrate the use of statistical and dynamic models to interpolate water quality data in the Chesapeake Bay. She is applying these methods to explore the complex relationships that exist between hypoxia development, nutrient loads, and physical conditions of the Bay. Prior to her research at JHU, Murphy graduated from Cornell University in 2001 and 2002 with a B.S. and M.Eng. in biological and environmental engineering. She worked for four years in environmental consulting where her focus was on environmental modeling, GIS analysis, and risk assessment.

Frank C. Curriero is an associate professor in the Departments of Environmental Health Sciences and Biostatistics at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Curriero’s research focus is on the development and application of spatial statistical methodology in the environmental health sciences. A substantial component of Dr. Curriero’s research includes the utility of a geographic information system (GIS). Integrating spatial statistics with GIS has allowed Dr. Curriero to work within a broad scope of environmental health, with published efforts involving the social and behavioral environment, soil, water, and air environment with varying focus on health outcomes related to cancer, infectious/chronic disease, and mortality. Dr. Curriero has developed and annually teaches two core courses in spatial analysis and GIS at Johns Hopkins. He has been recognized as an outstanding teacher and mentor as a past recipient of the Advising, Mentoring, and Teaching Recognition Award. Dr. Curriero has also received the best paper award for his 2006 manuscript published in Mathematical Geology on the use of non-Euclidean distance in geostatistical applications, a faculty innovation award for research by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a faculty fellowship in environmental health tracking sponsored by the school and the Centers for Disease Control. He has B.S. degrees in mathematics and computer science and an M.A. in statistics from the Pennsylvania State University. His Ph.D. is also in statistics, from Kansas State University.

William P. Ball is a professor of Environmental Engineering in the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). Dr. Ball and his students study physicochemical processes controlling water quality and contaminant fate in aquatic environments, with applications to both natural contaminant fate and engineered processes of water treatment. Professor Ball is a past recipient of the 1991 Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation, the 1999 Rudolph Hering Medal from ASCE, the 2008 Outstanding Publication Award from the AEESP, the 2008 Capers and Marion McDonald Award for Excellence in Mentoring and Advising, and, in his role as faculty advisor for the JHU chapter of Engineers without Borders, the 2009 Diversity Recognition Award from the Diversity Leadership Council of the Johns Hopkins Institutions. He currently serves as principal investigator of the multi-institutional, NSF-funded project entitled “A Prototype System for Multidisciplinary Shared Cyberinfrastructure—Chesapeake Bay Environmental Observatory (CBEO).” Prior to his Ph.D. and academic career, Professor Ball worked in environmental engineering consulting for six years. He has a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Virginia and an M.S. and Ph.D. in environmental engineering and science from Stanford University.

We look forward to your comments on this valuable piece of work.