Aldo "Skip" Vecchia was recently selected to receive the 2015 Jeanne E. Griffith Mentoring Award for his mentoring of junior staff across government. Vecchia is a senior statistician with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Bismarck, North Dakota. He uses statistical approaches to understand climate variability and the effects of this variability on the water cycle. One particular problem he is addressing is understanding the hydrology of Devils Lake, North Dakota. This is a closed basin lake (there is no outlet), which recently has expanded greatly due to a prolonged wet spell. The area of the lake is about 330 square miles, and the local, state, and federal governments have spent more than $450 million for flood control. Should the lake rise another few feet, it will overtop its natural banks, spill, and water will make its way via the Red River of the North to Hudson Bay. Vecchia's contributions have helped decision-makers understand the probability of this catastrophic occurrence.
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机译：最近，Aldo“ Skip” Vecchia因其在整个政府范围内对初级员工的指导而获得2015年珍妮·格里菲斯（Jeanne E. Griffith）指导奖。 Vecchia是北达科他州Bi斯麦市美国地质调查局（USGS）的高级统计员。他使用统计方法来了解气候变异性以及这种变异性对水循环的影响。他要解决的一个特殊问题是了解北达科他州魔鬼湖的水文状况。这是一个封闭的流域湖（没有出口），最近由于长时间的湿雨而大大扩展了。湖泊面积约330平方英里，地方，州和联邦政府已花费超过4.5亿美元用于防洪。如果该湖再上升几英尺，它将越过其天然河岸，溢出物，水将通过北部的红河到达哈德逊湾。 Vecchia的贡献帮助决策者了解了这种灾难性事件发生的可能性。
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