WSESA-2025

Dennis C. Flanagan is a Research Agricultural Engineer of the USDA-ARS, and an adjunct Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Purdue. For the past 40+ years he has been involved in soil erosion by water research, including erosion process mechanics, erosion control practices, and erosion prediction technology development. He received his. B.S. in Agricultural Engineering from the Ohio State University, his M.S. in Agricultural Engineering from Purdue University, and his Ph.D. from Purdue University. He has spent his entire career at the USDA-ARS National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.

His past work has included innovative soil erosion research on effects of rainstorm intensity patterns on runoff, soil loss, and chemical losses. He also conducted extensive studies indicating effectiveness of anionic polyacrylamide and gypsiferous materials as soil amendments to enhance infiltration and reduce runoff and soil loss from agricultural and construction sites. He was one of the developers of the USDA WEPP model, a process-based technology for estimating runoff and soil loss from croplands, forest lands, rangelands, and other land use areas, first publicly delivered in 1995. Dr. Flanagan has been the WEPP model project leader since 1999, and has led continued model development, including cooperative projects with the USDA-Forest Service, the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, and multiple universities, particularly on web-based geospatial interface and database efforts.

Dr. Flanagan is a life member of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), and has been involved in numerous society committees and activities. He was the major organizer of three ASABE international soil erosion symposia: the 2001 Soil Erosion Research for the 21 st Century international symposium held in Honolulu, Hawaii, the 2011 International Symposium on Erosion and Landscape Evolution held in Anchorage, Alaska, and the 2023 Soil Erosion Research Under a Changing Climate international symposium held in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. He was named a Fellow of ASABE in 2011, which is the highest honor that his professional society awards. In 2024 he was also awarded the ASABE John Deere Gold Medal, “for worldwide contributions to soil erosion research, erosion prediction technology, and preservation of natural resources”. In addition to ASABE, he is also a member of the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS), and the American Geophysical Union (AGU).

Dr. Flanagan has advised thirteen graduate students as an adjunct Professor at Purdue University (7 M.S., 6 Ph.D.). He has authored or co-authored 316 publications including 152 refereed journal articles and 15 book chapters, and has edited 4 books. He currently is serving as an Editor-in- Chief of the International Soil and Water Conservation Research journal (since 2023).