Dr. Doug Graber Neufeld in Cambodia.
Southeast Asia, and specifically the war-scarred country of Cambodia, is the focus of the next Suter Science Seminar at EMU.
Douglas Graber Neufeld, associate professor of biology at EMU, will present “Journeys through Cambodia: A Tour of Water Issues from Urban Sewers to Rural Ricefields” 4 p.m. Friday, Mar. 14, in room 104 of the Suter Science Center.
Dr. Graber Neufeld works primarily with the environmental science program at EMU with a focus on issues that relate to environmental monitoring. He and his family recently returned from a two-year term with Mennonite Central Committee in Cambodia, where he worked on environmental issues through the Royal University of Agriculture and the Royal University of Phnom Penh.
The EMU professor will present some efforts being made to improve water quality and management in Cambodia, including projects on providing remote villages with safe drinking water, preventing health problems from untreated Phnom Penh sewage and rehabilitating Pol Pot-era irrigations structures to increase agricultural production.
“Cambodia is still recovering from decades of armed conflict, resulting in one of the lewest levels of development in Southeast Asia,” Graber Neufeld said. “Issues of water are related to many of the most pressing problems in the country, including agriculture and health.”
Graber Neufeld has a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in environmental physiolog and worked at the University of Arizona and the University of Otago (New Zealand) before coming to EMU.
Refreshments will be served 15 minutes prior to the presentation. The program is open to everyone free of charge.
For more information, contact Dr. Roman J. Miller, 540-432-4412; e-mail millerrj@emu.edu.