Institute of Water Research

Dr. O’Neil has served as an Environmental Scientist and GIS Specialist for the Institute of Water Research at Michigan State University since 2005. He has utilized his skills in environmental modeling and web development to lead or assist numerous water quality and quantity projects in the Great Lakes Region. Those efforts include the development of HIT, an online tool to quantify erosion and sedimentation risk across the Great Lakes Basin and prioritize conservation efforts, the Great Lakes Watershed Management System, the State of Michigan’s Water Use Reporting system, and the Social Indicators and Data Management Analysis System, which is used to measure awareness of and attitudes towards water conservation. He also led the modeling efforts for a USDA-sponsored project exploring climate change impacts on hydrology in southwest Michigan, and led the coordination of local conservation district staff in a comprehensive field evaluation of sedimentation risk in Clinton, Huron, and Lenawee counties of Michigan.