SSP&A provides in-person and remote/online trainings for the appropriate application of programs in support of environmental and water resource studies, often in collaboration with other subject-area experts.
Upcoming and recent trainings are listed below:
June 16 –
17, 2025
Instructors: Christopher Langevin, PhD, with Michael Fienen, Joseph Hughes, Martijn Russcher, Sorab Panday, Wes Bonelli, and Michael Reno
MODFLOW 6 is the current version of MODFLOW released and supported by the USGS. The program is under active development by the short course instructors and the broader hydrologic community. This short course introduces participants to MODFLOW 6 and its growing simulation capabilities. Each topic includes a short lecture on the underlying concepts and implementation followed by a live demonstration. Live demonstrations will use the Python language, Jupyter Notebooks, and the FloPy Package to create, run, and post-process MODFLOW 6 simulations. Visit the IGWMC website for details and to register, at: https://igwmc.princeton.edu/events/short-courses-summer-2025/
June 20, 2025
Instructor: Christopher Neville, P.Eng
The focus of this one-day short course is directed to constant-rate pumping tests, the “gold standard” of aquifer tests. Since these tests require major efforts for planning and execution, the data from these tests are worthy of careful interpretation. Pumping tests are generally interpreted using methods based on highly idealized conceptual models of the subsurface. The theory of these methods and their application in simple settings are treated well in several excellent textbooks and monographs. However, more often than not, when a hydrogeologist is charged with interpreting the results of an actual test, he/she often discovers that the data do not look like those in a textbook. Data are typically noisy, do not approximate theoretical curves, and frequently yield inconsistent estimates of aquifer properties. This one-day course is designed to assist groundwater professionals in bridging the gap between theory and practice. The objective of the course is to hone the critical thinking skills of practitioners responsible for interpreting data from aquifer tests in complex natural settings. Visit the IGWMC website for details and to register, at: https://igwmc.princeton.edu/events/short-courses-summer-2025/
June 21, 2025
Instructors: Christopher Neville, P.Eng, and Vivek Bedekar, PhD, PE
Intended for students and professionals familiar with groundwater flow concepts who are interested in simulating the fate and transport of contaminants in groundwater, this course aims to teach attendees the underlying theoretical concepts and provide a modeling toolkit for simulating groundwater solute transport to address practical contamination and remediation problems. The course is structured as a one-day course and consists of theory, practical examples, and demonstration examples to address practical problems. Visit the IGWMC website for details and to register, at: https://igwmc.princeton.edu/events/short-courses-summer-2025/
June 21, 2025
Instructors: Vivek Bedekar, PhD, PE, and Matthew Tonkin, PhD
This half-day course introduces participants to Texture2Par for integrating texture and sediment data obtained from well logs and geophysical data obtained from surface and airborne investigations. The course provides insights into the features of Texture2Par, including power-law methods for parameterization including depth-dependence, co-kriging for multiple data sources, spatial interpolation methods, flexible variogram support. By combining mathematical theory, practical demonstrations, and real-world examples, attendees will learn how to efficiently generate realistic, spatially varying aquifer parameters for hydrologic models and calibration efforts and seamlessly integrate calibration within programs such as PEST. Visit the IGWMC website for details and to register, at: https://igwmc.princeton.edu/events/short-courses-summer-2025/
September 30 –
October 4, 2024
The Geochemical Modeling: PHREEQC and Beyond Conference and Course provides an opportunity to learn about best practices and innovative projects using PHREEQC, a powerful reaction/transport modeling tool developed by the U.S. Geological Survey and used by water agencies and consultants to perform aqueous geochemical calculations. This event offers presentations by industry leaders, networking opportunities with water purveyors and regulatory agencies, and the opportunity to expand your knowledge and capabilities using PHREEQC. Tony Appelo and David Parkhurst, the founders of PHREEQC, will be keynote speakers and teach the Course. Visit the event website for details and to register, at: https://www.geochemicalmodeling.com
March 3 – 4,
2024
The 10th International Groundwater Conference will be held March 5-7 in Roorkee, India, with the theme of “Groundwater Vision 2047: Towards Water Security under Changing Climate.” Vivek Bedekar, PhD, PE, of S.S. Papadopulos & Associates, will instruct a 2-day pre-conference course on March 3-4 to teach theoretical concepts and provide a modeling toolkit for simulating groundwater solute transport to address contamination problems. The course includes theory, practical examples, and hands-on training.
Day 1
- Session 1: Underlying definitions – Advection, Dispersion, Porosity; Governing equation; Numerical solutions and related issues.
- Session 2: Adsorption, decay, mass calculations; Dual porosity; Reactions – zero/first order decay, instantaneous kinetics.
- Session 3: Analytical models – approximations and solutions; ATRANS, MPNE1D, SSM.
- Session 4: Numerical models – MT3D-USGS examples.
Day 2
- Session 1: Advanced topics in MT3D-USGS; Groundwater-surface water transport; Pump and treat system.
- Session 2: MODFLOW 6 examples; Variable density modeling; Heat transport, axisymmetric modeling.
- Session 3: Vadose zone transport, dual porosity transport; PFAS background and introduction.
- Session 4: Geochemical modeling; Practical examples; Conceptualization, calibration, Q&A.
Visit the IGWC 2025 website for more information and to register, at: https://igwc2025.nihroorkee.gov.in/index