Robert Traver, PhD
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Director of the Villanova Center for Resilient Water Systems; Director of the Villanova Urban Stormwater Partnership | College of Engineering | Villanova University
Villanova, PA, UNITED STATES
Robert Traver, PhD., P.E., D. WRE, F.EWRI, F.ASCE, is an expert on green stormwater infrastructure.
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Areas of Expertise (5)
Flooding
Green Infrastructure
Stormwater Management
Urban Watersheds
Water Resources
Biography
Dr. Robert G. Traver has been a member of the Water Resources and Environmental Engineering Program at Villanova since 1988. He currently serves as Director of the Villanova Center for Resilient Water Systems (VCRWS), which joins with government and industry to advance the field of comprehensive stormwater management. In taking the lead with VCRWS, Dr. Traver has transformed the Villanova campus into a living laboratory with on-site experimental projects such as a green roof, rain garden, stormwater wetland, pervious concrete and porous asphalt.
Dr. Traver played a significant role in the Corps of Engineers' investigation of the failure of the New Orleans Hurricane Protection System during Hurricane Katrina as a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers External Panel (ERP). Dr. Traver has previously testified before Congress and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Education (3)
Pennsylvania State University: PhD
Villanova University: MCE
Virginia Military Institute: BSCE
Select Accomplishments (7)
2023 Philadelphia Civil Engineer of the Year Award (professional)
Presented annually by the Philadelphia Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers for remarkable accomplishments in the civil engineering profession, the award is the Philadelphia Section’s highest recognition.
2023 AAWRE Outstanding Research & Innovation Award (professional)
The award recognized Dr. Traver for his outstanding body of work and involvement in advancing the scientific basis for resilient stormwater green infrastructure practices.
2019 Recipient of Environmental and Water Resources Institute Lifetime Achievement Award (professional)
This award is presented to a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers for demonstrating a life-long level of commitment to environmental or water resources engineering through public service, research or education.
2016 Villanova University Outstanding Faculty Research Award (professional)
The Outstanding Faculty Research Award award recognizes a faculty member who demonstrates the highest standards of excellence in research, scholarship and contributions to their field. Dr. Traver received this award for his scholarship in stormwater management and sustainable engineering.
2007 Outstanding Civilian Service Medal (professional)
Awarded by the Commanding General of the United States Corps of Engineers for Dr. Traver's role on the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) External Review Panel, charged with determining the cause of New Orleans’ levee system failure during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 .
2014 ASCE William H. Wisley American Civil Engineer Award (professional)
Awarded to recognize Dr. Traver's leadership of the American Society of Civil Engineer's (ASCE) Task Committee on Flood Safety Policies and Practices.
Retired LTC of the U.S. Army Reserve (personal)
Desert Storm Veteran
Links (2)
Affiliations (5)
- Associate Editor and Co-Founder of the ASCE Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment
- Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE)
- Diplomat and Former President of the American Academy of Water Resource Engineers
- Committee Member of the National Research Council Committee that authored “Urban Stormwater Management in the United States” (2009)
- Steering committee of the Water Environmental Federation Stormwater Institute
Select Media Appearances (9)
MSD Asks Voters to Increase Their Sewer Bills. If They Don’t say Yes, Massive Hikes Await.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch online
2024-03-21
Policies like Prop S that take aim at runoff from impervious surfaces are becoming increasingly common around the country, as cities and towns grapple with how to address problems from “water off pavement,” said Rob Traver, a Villanova University professor of water resource engineering and an urban stormwater expert. “It is directly related to what causes the problem,” he said. “It’s definitely growing. I’m seeing more and more areas doing this.”
Study Shows Federal Weather Model Underplays Flooding, Putting Infrastructure Spending at Risk
Politico online
2023-06-26
Some states and cities are updating their design standards on their own to account for climate-driven precipitation changes, said Robert Traver, a professor and director of the Villanova Center for Resilient Water Systems. Traver is working with Pennsylvania to update its design specifications to use the upper bounds of the Atlas 14 rainfall range. He said doing so would better account for how climate change is driving more intense rainfall events.
Inside the Billion-Dollar Effort to Clean Up the World’s Most Romantic River
TIME online
2023-03-13
There is a reason that it’s taken so long: most of the world’s largest cities were built long before modern sanitation networks were knit into urban planning. “You cannot put in a whole new sanitation system. It’s ridiculously expensive,” says Robert Traver, a leading urban-river specialist and engineering professor at Villanova University in Philadelphia. That city, for example, has had a plan for years to transform its section of the Delaware River and make it swimmable; much like the Seine in Paris, the river cuts through the city.
With a Green Makeover, Philadelphia Is Tackling Its Stormwater Problem
Yale e360 online
2018-03-29
At nearby Villanova University, the Urban Stormwater Partnership, founded in 2002 under environmental engineering professor Robert Traver, had begun experimenting with green stormwater infrastructure. Neukrug developed a couple of low-impact pilot design projects, and in 2009, the Philadelphia Water Department released a revision — 12 years in the making — to its stormwater and sewage management plan.
Those Surprising Gardens Along I-95 in Fishtown? They'll Manage Olympic Amounts of Stormwater
Philadelphia Inquirer online
2017-09-03
One recent day after a heavy rain, Robert Traver, a professor of civil engineering at Villanova and chair of the university’s Urban Stormwater Partnership, was out inspecting one of the rain gardens. This one, running along Richmond Street, between Shackamaxon and Marlborough Streets, covered about 1.7 acres.
I-95 Overhaul Includes Green Infrastructure to Reduce River Pollution
WHYY online
2017-05-08
“They’re building a lot of green infrastructure, rain gardens and bioinfiltration sites that weren’t there before,” said Villanova engineering professor Robert Traver, who is working on the project. “So that means all those acres of impervious surface that used to go directly into the combined sewers now get cut off and reduce the volume tremendously.”
Cities Enlist Nature to Tame Rising Flood Risks
Christian Science Monitor online
2016-12-20
But in recent years, the method has gained credence as a buffer against climate change, said Robert Traver, a professor and director of the Villanova Urban Stormwater Partnership at Villanova University in Philadelphia, a city replete with porous pavement and other projects that’s turned it into the US poster child for green infrastructure.
10 Years After Hurricane Katrina, US Still Lacks Comprehensive Strategy to Tackle Floods, Experts Warn
Fox News online
2015-08-28
“There has been a lot of work done in the areas that were flooded out,” Robert Traver, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Villanova University, told FoxNews.com. “Where we still need a lot of good work is in treating everything like a system – it’s not just the barrier systems such as levees and sand-dunes, it’s ‘how good is our evacuation system?’ ‘What do we do to make the houses more resilient?’ ‘What do we do about land use decisions?’ and ‘How good is our public notification system?’”
Engineers Call for National Approach to Flooding
Associated Press online
2014-09-22
An organization of civil engineers is calling for a national strategy for mitigating flood risks, saying the U.S. has not fully heeded lessons from Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy... Robert Traver, the Villanova University professor who was chairman of the group that made the report, said the issues are critical. “The failure to act today has future consequence,” he said.
Research Grants (5)
Stormwater Best Management Practice National Monitoring Site
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection $323,366
2016
PennDot Green Infrastructure Research Center
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation $702,000
2015
Green Cities Clean Water Research Center
City of Philadelphia’s Water Department $150,000
2015
Next Generation Volume Reduction Green Infrastructure Stormwater Control Measures in Support of Philadelphia's Green City Clean Waters Initiative
Environmental Protection Agency $1 million
2014
Rain Garden Configuration to Maximize Hydrologic Performance
Pennsylvania Growing Greener $126,745
2013
Select Academic Articles (7)
A 15-year analysis of precipitation and rain garden response
Hydrological ProcessesAchira Amur, Bridget Wadzuk, Robert Traver
2022
Evapotranspiration in green stormwater infrastructure systems
Science of The Total EnvironmentAli Ebrahimian, Bridget Wadzuk, Robert Traver
2019
Dynamic design of green stormwater infrastructure
Frontiers of Environmental Science & EngineeringTraver, R., Ebrahimian, A.
2017
Storm Water Control Management & Monitoring
Pennsylvania Department of TransportationToran, L., Eisenman, S., Caplan, J., Van Aken, B., McKenzie, E., Nyquist, J., Jonathan E., Ryan, E., Kelley, J., Traver, R., Tu, M., Schmidt, N., Calt, E.
2017
Green Infrastructure Recovery: Analysis of the Influence of Back-to-Back Rainfall Events
ASCE Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built EnvironmentWadzuk, B., Lewellyn, C. Lee, R., Traver, R.
2017
The Impact of Drainage on Green Roof Evapotranspiration
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage EngineeringZaremba, G., Traver R., Wadzuk, B.
2016
Flood Risk Management: Call for a National Strategy
American Society of Civil EngineersTraver, R.
2014
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