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Maurice Lee "Maury" "Quickshot" Albertson (August 30, 1918 – January 11, 2009), PhD, civil engineer, a teacher of water resources management over a long career (starting in 1947) at
Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...
in
Fort Collins, Colorado Fort Collins is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality in Larimer County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The population was 169,810 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an i ...
and former head of th
Colorado State University Research Foundation


Biography

He was born and grew up in Hays, Kansas. There he learned from his father about helping others in a rural environment and living a life based on the Sermon on the Mount. Having witnessed economic hardship at the time of the Great Depression and seeing the effect of prolonged drought, he was inspired to focus on water resources. Albertson eventually headed all research projects at CSU. He received a B.S. degree at
Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...
, an M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanics and hydraulics at the
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
, and a D.Phys.Sc. degree at the
University of Grenoble The (, ''Grenoble Alps University'', abbr. UGA) is a Grands établissements, ''grand établissement'' in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 researchers. Es ...
, France. His first wife, Dolly (Myrtle Marie Campbell originally of Waterloo, IA), the mother of his two daughters, Kay and Sarah, died in 1976. His second wife, Audrey Faulkner, who survived him, is co-author on some of his publications. Albertson has been credited with changing the face of U.S. volunteerism. He recalled that the phone rang at two o'clock in the morning in 1961, and that when he answered he found himself talking to Sargent Shriver, first director of the Peace Corps. Shriver was calling to ask him about a CSURF study on creating a youth volunteer group. Shriver apologized for the hour, but said he'd been working on the program all night and had worked his way to Albertson on his list of people to call. He wanted Albertson to come to Washington immediately. The CSURF research Albertson oversaw was used in setting up the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps remained true to the original vision in Albertson's opinion. Albertson served as a consultant to the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
, the
United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...
,
USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian United States foreign aid, foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 19 ...
,
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
, and other agencies. His focuses have included water resource development, environmental engineering, water and sanitation, on-farm water management, village development, appropriate technology, and small industry development. Climate change has recently been one of his concerns. His honors include: American Society of Civil Engineers, J. C. Stevens Award; Emil Hilgard Prize; Croes Medal; CSU Centennial Professor and Public Service Award; Peshawar University of Pakistan, Honorary Doctor of Laws; Asian Institute of Technology, Honorary Doctor of Technology; Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Lowell University; Colorado Governor’s Award of Merit for Science and Technology; honorary doctorate from Colorado State University; National Society of Professional Engineers Engineer of the Year; Iowa State University Professional Achievement Award. Albertson also received the E-chievement Award from etown, a weekly NPR radio broadcast. The award honors noteworthy individuals who are working hard to make a positive difference in their communities and beyond. He was president and co-founder of Village Earth, the Consortium for Sustainable Village-Based Development, and worked almost until the moment of his death on plans for the organization. He has more than 200 publications. He was honored in the U.S. Senate on the occasion of his 90th birthday.Congressional Record – 110th Congress (2007-2008)
— THOMAS (Library of Congress)


See also

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Appropriate Technology Appropriate technology is a movement (and its manifestations) encompassing technology, technological choice and application that is small-scale, affordable by its users, labor-intensive, efficient energy use, energy-efficient, environmentally sust ...
*
Local food Local food is food that is produced within a short distance of where it is consumed, often accompanied by a social structure and supply chain different from the large-scale supermarket Food system, system. Local food (or locavore) movements ...
*
Sustainable agriculture Sustainable agriculture is agriculture, farming in sustainability, sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an ...
*
Sustainable food system A sustainable food system is a type of food system that provides healthy diet, healthy food to people and creates sustainable environmental, economic, and social systems that surround food. Sustainable food systems start with the development of Su ...
* Volunteerism *
Civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...
*
Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
*
Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...
*
Water resources Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. These resources can be either Fresh water, freshwater from natural sources, or water produ ...
*
Land-grant universities A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, Morrill Acts of 1862 and ...
* Village Earth


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albertson, Maurice 1918 births 2009 deaths Engineers from Kansas American civil engineers People from Hays, Kansas Iowa State University alumni Colorado State University faculty 20th-century American engineers