2006 ROYCE J. TIPTON AWARD

Jack Keller received the Royce J. Tipton Award at the ASCE/EWRI World Water & Environment Congress, May 21–25, 2006 in Omaha, Nebraska for his energetic excellence and vision in development of design procedures for sprinkler and trickle irrigation systems and for research and leadership in national and international water management and development programs. Dr. Keller’s contributions to the irrigation and drainage engineering and civil engineering professions have revolved around a broad vision of how irrigation fits within hydrologic systems and the development of technical solutions to specific problems. The technical advancements provided by Dr. Keller in sprinkler and trickle design, water quality assessment, and hydrology of irrigated systems are part of an overall strategy for improving the performance of water management in irrigated agriculture.

Dr. Keller has a unique blend of engineering experiences that include teaching, research, extension, and consulting. He is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in the design, implementation, and management of irrigation systems. He is currently involved in consulting activities related to efficient, irrigated agricultural development; river basin water management and conservation planning; irrigation water monitoring, verification, and conservation planning; and development of efficient, low-cost irrigation technologies for small farms.

He is founder and Chief Executive Officer of Keller Bliesner Engineering LLC. He is also Professor Emeritus in the Biological and Irrigation Engineering Department at Utah State University, where he was Department Head between 1980 and 1986. Prior to becoming a professor at Utah State University in 1960, he was the Chief Irrigation Engineer in charge of product development for W.R. Ames Company.

At Utah State, he taught and carried out research and consultation in sprinkler and trickle irrigation. He also provided advisory services in irrigated agricultural development and water management in more than 60 countries. Many of his professional activities involved leading multidisciplinary teams to create irrigation project designs, planning/evaluation, and regional irrigation sector analysis.

Dr. Keller is the author of more than 90 technical papers, 50 major consulting reports, 9 handbooks, and 2 textbooks in areas of agricultural water resources planning and engineering, on-farm water management, and irrigation system design. He has received four U.S. patents related to sprinkler, surface, and drip irrigation. He has been honored with the Person of the Year Award from the U.S. Irrigation Association, the Research Excellence Award from the College of Engineering at USU, Engineer of the Year Award for the State of Utah, ASAE Award for the Advancement of Surface Irrigation, Scientific American 50 Award, and election to membership in the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.

Dr. Keller is a member of several irrigation committees of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is also a member of the Irrigation Association and the U.S. Commission of Irrigation and Drainage. He serves on the U.S. and International Development Enterprises, and NGO that focuses on rural poverty alleviation through a market creation approach to development using irrigation as an entry point.

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