SatRAP Spotlights
Learn more about the people behind the research
Each month, we'll introduce the people behind the project, sharing their research, experiences, and contributions to the team.
From fieldwork and technology development to education, outreach, and mentorship, these stories offer a closer look at how SatRAP is making an impact across the region and helping shape the future of water management.
Amy Hardberger
Amy Hardberger is the McCleskey Professor of Law and director of the Center for Water Law and Policy at Texas Tech University School of Law. Her research focuses on the intersection of water law, agriculture, energy, and economics, with a particular interest in how land use and policy can help protect groundwater and surface water resources. Before joining academia, she worked on municipal water conservation and sustainable water planning with the Environmental Defense Fund and previously worked as an environmental consultant after earning degrees in geology.
Through her work at Texas Tech, Hardberger collaborates across disciplines and with partners around the world on issues related to water governance and scarcity. Her recent international work includes a Fulbright Specialist grant in Tanzania focused on land conservation and water resources, as well as ongoing collaborations in Kenya. As part of the SatRAP team, she helps evaluate research through a policy lens, examining how technological and educational innovations can influence water-use decisions and conservation outcomes. She hopes the project will help advance new conversations about agricultural water use and the role technology can play in supporting sustainable water management.
Ideally, the SatRAP grant can start a different conversation related to agricultural water usage and how we think about conservation through the use of technology. It is challenging to change people’s behavior, particularly when it directly impacts their livelihood.
Amy Hardberger
Director, Texas Tech Center for Water Law and Policy
Previous SatRAP Spotlights
My prior research focused on how farmers' faiths and religious values influenced their farming practices in the Great Plains. My current research is focused on understanding perceptions of Ogallala aquifer depletion in the southern High Plains among agricultural producers, a project which included 37 producer interviews from the panhandle of Texas, the panhandle of Oklahoma, and Western Kansas. The SatRAP grant has provided the resources necessary to complete a large qualitative research project as part of my dissertation. It has subsequently supported my travel to regional water conferences and national academic conferences to share my findings with the public and the academy. Additionally, through the Mentorship Program of the grant, I have received tailored guidance and direction from my major professor about things I have not learned in the classroom like how to network at an academic conference.Samuel Baumer
I have an undergraduate degree in Family and Social Services from College of the Ozarks and a master's degree in Sociology from Kansas State University. I am starting my second year of my PhD in Sociology at Kansas State University working under Matthew Sanderson on the SatRAP grant. My research interests generally include agriculture, rural communities, and human-environmental relationships.