Dr Evan Christen, Research Team Leader in irrigation and drainage.

Dr Evan Christen: researching irrigation water use efficiency and salinity control

Dr Evan Christen’s primary research areas are irrigation, drainage for control of salinity and waterlogging and the reuse of drainage and waste waters.

• 2 November 2009 | Updated 14 October 2011

• Current activities 
• Background 
• Academic qualifications 
• Achievements  
• Professional activities 

Current activities

Dr Evan Christen's current research activities are centred on measuring and managing irrigation water use to increase irrigation efficiency and control waterlogging and salinity.

His main research areas include:

• development of water management strategies for the integrated management of irrigation and drainage systems in drainage impacted semi-arid irrigation areas, including:
  • irrigation scheduling including crop water use from shallow ground water
  • control structures at the outlets of subsurface drains
• advancing our understanding of how to tackle the worldwide problem of salt loads in drainage waters from irrigated areas:
  • investigating subsurface drainage processes in terms of drainage design and management impacts on salt loads
  • development of Best Management Practices for subsurface drainage
• water use analysis of irrigated crops including:
  • direct evapotranspiration measurement
  • satellite derived measures
  • grower tools
• use of agricultural wastewaters, sewage waters and irrigation drainage waters for irrigation.
  Dr Christen's research on drainage and salinity control in irrigated systems has taken him to taken him to the USA, Egypt, Pakistan, China and recently to assist Iraq.

Background

Dr Christen has spent 18 years with CSIRO at the Griffith Laboratory in the heart of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and the Murray Darling Basin, Australia. He has undertaken extensive research on drainage and salinity control in irrigated systems.

This work has also taken him to the USA, Egypt, Pakistan, China and recently to assist Iraqi authorities with their salinity problems.

He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor with the University of New England, New South Wales, Australia, and affiliated with the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Irrigation Futures, for whom he is a project leader, and supervises three Doctorate students.

Academic qualifications

Dr Christen has been awarded a:

• Master of Science in Soil and Water Engineering from Cranfield University, United Kingdom, in 1991
• Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural Engineering also from Cranfield University in 1994.

Achievements

Dr Christen is the author of:

• 31 refereed papers
• 25 refereed conference papers
• 65 other conference papers
• 38 farming/commodity industry journals
• 11 books and book chapters
• 19 consultancy reports
• 42 technical reports
• four irrigation education modules and short courses.

His work on subsurface drainage has been recognised internationally.

Dr Christen has won several awards including:

• Australian Academy of Science travel fellowship
• Leadership award – CRC Irrigation Futures
• End users award – CRC Irrigation Futures
• Science award – CRC Irrigation Futures.

Professional activities

Dr Christen is:

• a member of the Australian Soil Science Society
• an advisory editor for the Irrigation Science journal
• the 'Australian Representative' to the Drainage Working Group of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage.

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