UI doctorate candidate studies irrigation in Chile

Doctorate candidate Alex Nagel is currently planning a trip to Chile to look at the modernization of irrigation systems. He did some preliminary work in Chile back in 2019 and was offered the Fulbright Scholarship to fund his trip. 

Nagel turned it down in favor of other funding that he felt better suited his goals and the timeline for his graduation. 

“The timeline of nine months wasn’t really favorable to me,” Nagel said. “I’ve had a couple of opportunities over the last year that I was able to take advantage of and find a path that will let me graduate at the time that I want to.”  

Nagel grew up in southern Oregon and came to the University of Idaho as an undergraduate student. After getting his bachelor’s, he went to Portland State University to get his master’s degree and returned to the UI for his doctorate. 

“It’s been a great opportunity to be a part of the department at UI and be involved in some really cool projects,” Nagel said. 

The goal with Nagel’s trip to Chile is to monitor the transition from their current inefficient irrigation systems to a better one. 

“The current infrastructure has a lot of inefficiencies tied into the broader systems of energy and water governance, which in Chile have been focused on allocating as much water as possible, not really thinking too much about energy conservation,” Nagel explained. “It’s been focused on big grids to pump in energy from long distances, not really much small scale, community-oriented energy.” 

Nagel’s emphasis is on the connection between water and energy, particularly rivers. Other than this scientific approach, he is also interested in advocacy, traveling to Latin America, Europe and several other regions in this pursuit. 

“I just find that environmental advocacy, working for environmental organizations, is an area that is particularly important,” Nagel said. “That is what motivates me and where I think the most ‘on the ground’ change will occur.” 

Karen Humes is a hydrologist that has been Nagel’s primary advisor for a little over a year and has been on his committee since he started his doctorate program. Her specialty has been helping him understand the connection between water and energy. 

“My role has been to advise a bit on the water aspects of his work,” Humes said. 

Humes also expressed that Nagel did a lot of his setup work and connection building independently, more so than other students Humes has had. 

“A lot of the credit for Alex’s work and getting set up to do his fieldwork has been mostly his own doing, he’s been working very independently and developed a good collaborator (in Chile),” she said. 

Nagel has done a lot of work leading up to this trip and plans to make a career protecting rivers and advocating for healthy water-energy governance around the world. 

Jess Englis can be reached at [email protected]