Andrea Welker, PhD

Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Associate Dean for Academic Affairs | College of Engineering | Villanova University

Villanova, PA, UNITED STATES

Andrea Welker, PhD, PE, is an expert in geotechnical engineering, stormwater management, and sustainability

Areas of Expertise (4)

Stormwater Management

Geotechnical Engineering

Sustainability

Rain Gardens

Biography

Dr. Welker is an authoritative source for stories that seek to present environmental engineering solutions to development and overbuilding, especially stormwater runoff. Her combined interest in geotechnical engineering and stormwater management has led Dr.Welker to investigate many aspects of the water budget, such as infiltration, evapotranspiration, and deep infiltration, for stormwater controls. As a leading member of the Villanova Urban Stormwater Partnership, Dr. Welker can speak about various methods of improving stormwater management, including how to achieve easy, economical, natural bioretention through the design and do-it-yourself construction of rain gardens.

Education (3)

The University of Texas at Austin: PhD

Drexel University: MS

Drexel University: BS

Select Accomplishments (1)

Completed 2017 HERS Institute at Bryn Mawr College and HERS Luce Program for Women in STEM Leadership (professional)

2017 Dr. Andrea Welker completed the 2017 HERS Institute at Bryn Mawr College. During the Institute, Dr. Welker also participated in the HERS Luce Program for Women in STEM Leadership. Supported by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation's Clare Booth Luce program, HERS—Higher Education Resource Services—draws upon over 40 years of providing leadership development experiences for women in higher education through its intensive residential program, the HERS Institute.

Links (1)

Villanova Center for Resilient Water Systems

Select Media Appearances (3)

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day 2020 Offers Opportunity to Explore STEM Careers

Thomas Insights online

2020-02-26

At Villanova University, Dr. Andrea Welker, the associate dean of academic affairs for the College of Engineering, organized two events to introduce grade-level girls to engineering: "Girls’ Day In," which explored a Villanova engineering degree for high school students, and "Engineering is for Girls Day," aimed at middle and elementary school girls. "Engineering is for everybody because we're solving problems that are for everybody," Welker says. "We need to still fight against the dropoff of interest in math and science that happens with girls in middle school because we want everyone to stay engaged. Even if you don't become an engineer, as long as you appreciate what technology does for your life every day, that's a step in the right direction." When she was in seventh grade, Welker herself attended an event designed to encourage girls' interest in STEM; She says the event really opened her mind to engineering as a career. "I was not one of the people that knew from the age of five that I wanted to be an engineer," she explains. "I actually didn't really know what engineers did [before the event]." 34% of Villanova's undergraduate engineering students are women, but Welker is still working to get that number up. "We need to get rid of that stigma that you have to be a math genius and make sure that we really emphasize the fact that you can really get into engineering at all different levels," she says.

OPINION: More girls in the engineering career pipeline makes the world a better place

WHYY, Philadelphia online

2018-03-14

In this increasingly complex world, we need everyone — women and men — to solve problems. We are at a pivotal moment in time as society recognizes the need for gender equity and the critical role that women must play in making the world a better place. Sadly, women are still underrepresented in many STEM professions and in STEM fields at many colleges and universities. When women enroll in STEM programs, they persist to graduation with few of them dropping out. Over time, the accumulation of discouragement keeps many girls from entering the pipeline. Lack of female role models, limited encouragement for girls to engage in math and science, and a lack of understanding about what engineers do and the impact they have in improving the quality of life for people worldwide are all impediments to young girls considering an education and a career in engineering. ... Andrea Welker is associate dean for academic affairs and professor of civil and environmental engineering at Villanova University College of Engineering

LM Conservancy, Villanova University among partners in 'unprecedented' watershed study

Main Line Times online

2014-04-10

The Villanova Urban Stormwater Partnership of Villanova University has been awarded a $565,000 grant. Under the direction of Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Andrea Welker, it will monitor the effectiveness of stormwater control measures in three other micro-watersheds.

Research Grants (5)

Delaware Watershed Research Fund: The Effectiveness of Stormwater Control Measures at the Promenade at Granite Run

Delaware Watershed Research Fund

2016-2019

Next Generation Volume Reduction Green Infrastructure Stormwater Control Measures in Support of Philadelphia’s Green City Clean Waters Initiative

United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

2013-2018

Watershed Protection Application: Target Sub-Watershed Cluster Implementation,

William Penn Foundation

2014-2018

Philadelphia Upstream Cluster: Phase II Planning

Delaware Watershed Research Fund

2016-2017

Growing Greener: Optimal Balance of Infiltration-Evapotranspiration for Vegetated SCMs

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

2014-2017

Select Academic Articles (5)

Water Quality Impacts of Green Roofs Compared with Other Vegetated Sites

Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment

Catherine M. Barr; Patricia M. Gallagher, Bridget M. Wadzuk, Pand Andrea L. Welker

2017

Evapotranspiration in Rain Gardens Using Weighing Lysimeters

Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering

Amanda Hess; Bridget Wadzuk; and Andrea Welker