About the NDMC

Dr. Donald Wilhite, Founder
phone: (402) 472–4270
e-mail: dwilhite2@unl.edu

Dr. Donald A. Wilhite accepted a new challenge as of August 1, 2007, becoming Director of the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has been at UNL for 30 years, and established the National Drought Mitigation Center in 1995.

The NDMC was preceded by the International Drought Information Center, whose programs have now been incorporated in the NDMC’s far-reaching program. The NDMC maintains a very active international program, working closely with foreign governments, international organizations such as a number of agencies of the United Nations, and regional organizations. Wilhite’s research centered on drought management, monitoring, and preparedness, the policy implications of climate variability and climate change, and the effects of climate on society and societal responses to extreme climate events, particularly drought. In conjunction with this research, he has conducted training seminars and workshops in developing and developed countries to help governments create drought preparedness plans.

Over the past 20 years, Dr. Wilhite has been the recipient or co-recipient of more than $15 million in grant funds. He has written, co-written, or edited more than 120 publications, including journal articles, books, chapters, and reports. In 2000, Dr. Wilhite edited the two-volume book, Drought: A Global Assessment, for Routledge Publishers as part of a book series on natural hazards and disasters. In 2005, he edited Drought and Water Crises: Science, Technology, and Management Issues, published by CRC Press, a division of Taylor and Francis. Also in 2005, he co-edited, with Linda Courtenay Botterill, From Disaster Response to Risk Management: Australia’s National Drought Policy, published by Springer. Key publications include:

Tadesse, T., D.A. Wilhite, M.J. Hayes, S.K. Harms, and S. Goddard. 2005. Discovering Associations Between Climatic and Oceanic Parameters to Monitor Drought in Nebraska Using Data-mining Techniques. Journal of Climate 18(10):1541–1550.
Wu, H., M.J. Hayes, D.A. Wilhite, and M.D. Svoboda. 2005. The Effect of the Length of Record on the Standardized Precipitation Index Calculation. International Journal of Climatology 25:505–520.
Botterill, L. Courtenay and D.A. Wilhite (eds.). 2005. From Disaster Response to Risk Management: Australia’s National Drought Policy. Springer. Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Wilhite, D.A. (ed.). 2005. Drought and Water Crises: Science, Technology, and Management Issues. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL.
Wilhite, D.A. 2005. Drought. In: Encyclopedia of Weather and Climate. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K. (in press)
Wilhite, D.A. 2005. Drought. In: J.E. Oliver (ed.) Encyclopedia of World Climatology, pp. 338-341. Springer. Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Wilhite, D.A. 2005. Drought Policy and Preparedness: The Australian Experience in an International Context. In: L. Courtenay Botterill and D.A. Wilhite (eds.) From Disaster Response to Risk Management: Australia’s National Drought Policy. pp. 157-176. Springer. Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Wilhite, D.A. 2005. The Role of Disaster Preparedness in National Planning with Specific Reference to Drought. In: M.K.V. Sivakumar, R.P. Motha, and H. Das (eds.) Natural Disasters and Extreme Events in Agriculture. pp. 23-37. Springer. Berlin.
Wilhite, D.A., L. Botterill, and K. Monnik. 2005. National Drought Policy: Lessons Learned from Australia, South Africa, and the United States. In: D.A. Wilhite (ed.) Drought and Water Crises: Science, Technology, and Management Issues. pp. 137-172. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL.
Wilhite, D.A. and M. Buchanan-Smith. 2005. Drought as Hazard: Understanding the Natural and Social Context. In: D.A. Wilhite (ed.) Drought and Water Crises: Science, Technology, and Management Issues. pp. 3-29. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL.
Wilhite, D.A., M.J. Hayes, and C.L. Knutson. 2005. Drought Preparedness Planning: Building Institutional Capacity. In: D.A. Wilhite (ed.) Drought and Water Crises: Science, Technology, and Management Issues. pp. 93-135. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL.
Wilhite, D.A. and R.S. Pulwarty. 2005. Drought and Water Crises: Lessons Learned and the Road Ahead. In: D.A. Wilhite (ed.) Drought and Water Crises: Science, Technology, and Management Issues. pp. 389-398. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL.
Wilhite, D., M. Svoboda, and M. Hayes, 2005. Monitoring Drought in the United States: Status and Trends. In: Boken, Cracknell, and Heathcote (eds.) Monitoring and Predicting Agricultural Drought: A Global Study, pp. 121–131. Oxford University Press. New York.
Tadesse, T., D.A. Wilhite, S.K. Harms, M.J. Hayes, and S. Goddard. 2004. Drought Monitoring Using Data Mining Techniques: A Case Study for Nebraska, USA. Natural Hazards 33(1):137–159.
Wu, H. and D.A. Wilhite. 2004. An Operational Agricultural Drought Risk Assessment Model for Nebraska, USA Natural Hazards 33(1):1–21.
Wu, H., K.G. Hubbard, and D.A. Wilhite. 2004. An Agricultural Drought Risk Assessment Model for Corn and Soybeans. International Journal of Climatology 24:723–741.
Wilhite, D.A. 2003. Drought. In J.R. Holton, J.A. Pyle, and J.A. Curry (eds.). Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences, pp. 650-658. Elsevier Science Ltd., New York.
Wilhite, D.A. 2003. Drought Management. In E. Julius Dasch (ed.). Water: Science and Issues, Volume 1, pp. 260-266. Macmillan Reference USA, New York.
Wilhite, D.A. (ed.). 2000. Drought: A Global Assessment. Natural Hazards and Disasters Series. Routledge Publishers, London.
Wilhite, D.A.; M.J. Hayes; C. Knutson; and K.H. Smith. 2000. Planning for Drought: Moving from Crisis to Risk Management. Journal of American Water Resources Association 36(4):697–710.
Wilhite, D.A.; M.V.K. Sivakumar; and D.A. Wood (eds.). 2000. Early Warning Systems for Drought Preparedness and Drought Management. Proceedings of an Expert Group Meeting. Lisbon, Portugal, September 5–7. World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.

Dr. Wilhite’s Complete Publication List
Dr. Wilhite’s International Activities

Education
• Ph.D. in 1975 from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in geography, specializing in agricultural climatology, climate change, and water resources.
• M.A. in 1969 from Arizona State University–Tempe, also in geography, specializing in physical geography with emphasis in climatology.
• B.S. in geography in 1967 from Central Missouri State University–Warrensburg.

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