Joel Sholtes

Joel Sholtes is an Associate Teaching Professor at Colorado Mesa University, affiliated with the University of Colorado Boulder Partnership. He specializes in water resources engineering with focuses on hydraulics, hydrology, and river corridor management. His research examines physical river processes like fluvial geomorphology and their applications to flood hazards, stream rehabilitation, and infrastructure management. Currently, he investigates hydrologic impacts of stream corridor restoration.

Education: PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Colorado State University (2010s), MA in Geography from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (2000s), and BS in Environmental Science from Duke University (early 2000s). He was an EPA STAR and NSF IGERT fellow during his graduate studies.

Research interests emphasize river hydraulics, sediment transport, flood mitigation, and ecological responses to flow regulation. His publications explore infrastructure management in river systems, channel dynamics under flooding, and policy frameworks for stream restoration. Awards include prestigious fellowships in environmental engineering and hydrology.

Professional experience includes work at the Bureau of Reclamation’s Sedimentation River Hydraulics Group before academia. His work bridges theoretical hydraulic principles with practical applications in environmental management and civil infrastructure resilience.