PATERA

CZECH REPUBLIC AND SLOVAKIA (see also List of Individuals)

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27.5.1944 /CR - 17.10.2003 Praha/CR

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Adolf Patera worked for 36 years at the Institute of Hydraulic Structures of the Czech Technical University CVUT in Prague, where he eventually was appointed professor of hydraulic structures. He was an eloquent and popular lecturer and apart from his teaching qualities, he devoted a great deal of time to his doctoral students as the chairman of the faculty committee. He also cooperated closely with the various Czech National Technical Committees, such as those involved in large dams or the National Hydrological Committee. He was also a Member of the International Committee of Large Dams ICOLD and of the International Association of Hydraulic Research IAHR.

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The main research interests of Patera were water resources systems, extreme hydrological events, environmental aspects of hydraulic engineering and the winter regime of reservoirs. In recent years, reservoirs and water in general have become for a number of countries a valuable good, and politics have often not found agreement in sharing the wet good equally to all concerned. Such a development may at the limit lead to conflicts, as was recently the case in the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia. Similar conflicts may also arise with rivers, such as the Danube River, whose neighbors have different goals in terms of water usage. The particular case showed up a disagreement between several countries whether the Danube should be used for hydropower generation, or if it should be essentially left in its present state for environmental reasons. The future will hopefully not accentuate these water wars, as one may term them. Patera was an engineer who contributed to the peaceful solution of these important hydraulic and political questions.

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_{Novak, P. (2005). Adolf Patera. Personal communication. P}

_{Patera, A. (1996). New paradigms in reservoir development and management. Proc. Intl. Conf. Aspects of conflicts in reservoir developments: 511-516. City University: London.}

_{Patera, A., Singh, V.P. (1999). Evaluation of reservoir and water resources systems control using entropy. Proc. Intl. Conf. WEESH, Seoul: 11-25. Water Resources Publications.}

_{Votruba, L., Patera, A. (1983). Teplotní a zimní režim toků, nádrží a vodních děl. Academia:}

_Praha.

_{Nacházel, K., Patera, A. (2000). Fuzzy set theory application in water management. 5 Intl.}

_{Conf. Fuzzy Sets Theory and its Application Liptovský Mikuláš: 250-259.}