Dr. Theo A. Dillaha
Program Director, SANREM CRSP
Phone: (540) 231-6813
E-mail: dillaha@vt.edu
Expertise: Agricultural Development and Pollution Control, Hydrologic and Water Quality Modeling, Soil and Water Conservation Engineering, Natural Resource Management, Sustainable Development
Education: B.E., Environmental & Water Resources Engineering, Vanderbilt University, 1974; M.S., Environmental & Water Resources Engineering, Vanderbilt University, 1976; Ph.D., Agricultural Engineering, Purdue University, 1981.
Languages: English, French, Spanish
Countries of work experience: Albania, Bolivia, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Micronesia, Morocco, Philippines, Russia, Soviet Union, Sudan, Thailand, Ukraine, Vietnam
Experience Summary: Dr. Dillaha is an educator and researcher with more than 25 years of university, international, and consulting experience in systems-based approaches to agriculture and natural resources management and conservation. He has been the Principal Investigator on 100 projects worth more than $18.2 million. Dr. Dillaha’s systems approach to natural resources problem solving and his strong background in agriculture, engineering, and environmental science make him effective in leading interdisciplinary teams.
His international work focuses on appropriate technology solutions that are sustainable given resources that are locally available. He has been involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of sustainable agricultural and natural resource management-related projects in Morocco, Micronesia, Japan, the Soviet Union, Russia, Ukraine, Albania, Mauritius, Kazakhstan, and the United States.
Prior to becoming the SANREM CRSP Program Director, Dr. Dillaha was a professor of Biological Systems Engineering and the Director of the Water Quality Laboratory at Virginia Tech. In all of his activities, he stresses the interconnectedness between biophysical, economic, social, and policy factors, and the need to identify holistic solutions to sustainable agriculture and natural resources management problems.
An expert in curriculum development and assessment, Dr. Dillaha has supervised 19 graduate student theses and dissertations. He has published 31 refereed publications along with hundreds of papers, technical reports, and book chapters. In addition, Dr. Dillaha has been an invited speaker at numerous national and international conferences, served on the Fulbright Africa Scholars Review Panel, and was a member of the National Research Council Committee on Riparian Zones.
