Joel Peterson, PhD, PE

Water Resources Engineer

Joel is an engineer and professor of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin – River Falls. Prior to joining the University, he worked for private consulting firms, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources. “I really enjoyed working on habitat rehabilitation projects in big river systems,” says Joel. During his time at the Army Corps, he spent four months in Iraq working on environmental restoration projects, including overseeing drinking water and wastewater treatment efforts on the Tigris River.

After 13 years in academia, Joel decided to take a year-long sabbatical to immerse himself in consulting, and so he temporarily joined our office in Saint Paul, Minnesota. While here, he has worked on a variety of projects including dam removals, sediment reduction efforts, and bank stabilization. In addition to his academic and consulting work, Joel volunteers with ABET, an international accrediting body for post-secondary science and engineering programs. In his free time, you can find Joel on the hockey rink or canoeing in the Boundary Waters with his wife and kids.