BIO: Richard Cooke is an Associate Professor and Drainage Extension Specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the University of Illinois. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Agricultural Engineering from the University of the West Indies, Trinidad, a Masters Degree in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, and a Doctorate in Agricultural Engineering from Virginia Tech. He teaches courses in Drainage and Water Management, Land and Water Management Systems, Drainage Design and Layout, and Nonpoint Source Pollution Modeling. He has developed computer software for robust trend surface analysis, interpolation, the analysis of paired watersheds, the statistical analysis of field data, fitting homogeneous and heterogeneous distributions to data, and analyzing yield maps from paired drainage systems. His current research focus is on the development and evaluation of drainage-related best management practices for improving water quality, watershed-scale modeling of subsurface drainage systems, and the development of multi-objective design criteria for subsurface drainage systems. He served as Editor for the Proceedings of the Eighth International Drainage Symposium, developed the online version of the Illinois Drainage Guide, and is working on the development of the Midwest Conservation Drainage Guide.