Legacy Lecture- Dr. David Bowles

For over 50 years, Dr. Bowles has been one of the most significant contributors to advancing the practice of safety and risk management in the United States and the international dam, levee, and mining engineering communities. His roles have included educator, researcher, coach, mentor, expert witness, technology developer, consultant, advisor, risk assessor, and contributor to many dam owners, regulators, and associated non-governmental organizations.   

Some of his contributions to our industry include: 

• A primary author of ICOLD Bulletin 130, Risk Assessment in Dam Safety, A reconnaissance of benefits, methods, and current applications – one of the fundamental guiding documents for modern risk-informed dam safety 
• Software for risk analysis and portfolio risk management and decision support, including development of LifeSIM application for life loss and other consequences estimating and software for forecast-based reservoir operations 
• Contributing author of dam safety policies at Reclamation and USACE 
• Individual and portfolio risk assessment and management practices 
• Spillway evaluation flood determination and dam breach modeling 
• Engineering hydrology, hydraulics, and sedimentation engineering