Dr. Rick Allen leads the Water Resources Research Program at the Kimberly Research and Extension Center. He specializes in evapotranspiration, irrigation water requirements and hydrologic systems. His research focuses on developing physics-based approaches and tools to quantify and solve water-related problems, including water consumption over large areas using satellite-based energy balance. Allen’s research team is comprised of five post- docs and several graduate students and maintains a close partnership with Idaho Department of Water Resources on developing and applying the METRIC satellite-based evapotranspiration model. That partnership earned the 2009 Innovations in American Governance Award, presented by the Ash Institute of the JF Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University, and the opportunity to present a seminar about Water Scarcity in Idaho in April 2010.
Allen was lead author of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization publication "Crop Evapotranspiration" that serves as an international practice standard. He was coeditor of the American Society of Civil Engineers Practices Manual 70 Evapotranspiration and Irrigation Water Requirements. He has served as a consultant to the UN, the World Meteorological Organization, US-AID and governments of Portugal, Spain and Australia with missions to India, Pakistan, Jordan, Yemen, Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, Turkey and Brazil. He is a member of the NASA/USGS Landsat Science Team.