Stephen J Zahniser

Stephen Zahniser joined the USGS Pacific Islands Water Science Center as the Associate Director and Studies Section Chief in 2021 where he oversees water-resources investigations in the Hawaiian islands and other Pacific islands. Stephen earned a Master of Science degree in Geological Sciences from the Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. After graduating, he joined an environmental consulting firm as a field hydrologist. During his time there, Stephen performed fate and transport modeling and groundwater studies in unconsolidated sediment, fracture flow, and karst systems. He also oversaw a number of large-scale RCRA and CERCLA projects while leading a team of field geologists and hydrologists.

For six years prior to joining the USGS, Stephen worked as a senior account manager with a geographic information systems software company  whose products focused on enterprise-level geospatial strategies and national elevation mapping. He is an active participant in the USGS Community  for Data Integration, and a member of the American Water Resources Association, American Geophysical Union, and National Groundwater Association.