A recent software donation to the Department of Geology and Geography will enhance West Virginia Universitys educational and research efforts in groundwater computer modeling capabilities.

The Groundwater Vistas software, a preprocessor/postprocessor for a number of major modeling codes in both public and private domains, was a gift from Douglas Rumbaugh and James Rumbaugh of Environmental Simulations International.

Widely used in private practice and one of the two most popular applications of its type in North America, the software is especially relevant to the professional careers of future graduates in the geology program.

The Department of Geology and Geography, housed in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, will install the software on 40 computers.

Eberly College officials say the generous donation increases the educational and research capabilities of the geology program in many different ways.

Described asone of the backbones of the graduate research program,the software is used not only for the teaching program in hydrogeology, but it is also used extensively in several classes, including Quantitative Hydrogeology, Groundwater Science using GIS , and Groundwater Modeling.

GWV -based simulations make up a significant quantity of the overall content and research in up to half of the graduate theses and publications in the hydrogeology program.

For more information concerning the software donation or the hydrogeology program, contact Joe Donovan at donovan@geo.wvu.edu or 304-293-5603.