The Grainger College of Engineering

Megan Konar

Megan Konar
Megan Konar
  • Associate Professor
  • William J. and Elaine F. Hall Faculty Fellow
(217) 244-6493
3022 Civil Eng Hydrosystems Lab

For More Information

Education

  • Ph.D. Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, 2012
  • M.S. Water Science, Policy, and Management, University of Oxford, 2005
  • B.S. Conservation and Resource Studies, University of California, Berkeley, 2002

Biography

Megan Konar joined the CEE faculty in fall 2013. She holds a Ph.D. (2012) and an M.S. (2009), both in Civil and Environmental Engineering, from Princeton University, an M.Sc. (2005) in Water Science, Policy, and Management from the University of Oxford, and a B.S. in Conservation and Resource Studies (2002) from the University of California at Berkeley.

Dr. Konar teaches CEE 350 Water Resources Engineering and CEE 549 Globalization of Water.

Dr. Konar's awards and honors include the List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent, CAREER award from the National Science Foundation, Hydrologic Sciences Section Early Career Award from the American Geophysical Union, Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers, James B. Macelwane Medal from the American Geophysical Union, and Fellow of the American Geophysical Union.

Academic Positions

  • Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2020-present
  • Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2013-2020

Research Statement

Dr. Konar conducts policy-relevant research that focuses on the intersection of water, food, and trade. Her research is inherently interdisciplinary, drawing from hydrology, environmental science, and economics. To conduct this research, she applies a range of quantitative tools, such as modeling, network analysis, and econometrics. Dr. Konar's research group is motivated by the overarching scientific question: ``What is the relationship between water resources and food supply chains?'' We are interested in understanding how food supply chains impact water use and sustainability, as well as the exposure of agri-food supply chains to water risk, including long-term water stress and shorter-term water hazards. To tackle our overarching research question, we have been working to uncover how water impacts agri-food supply chains, how supply chains impact water use, and their interactions.

Research Interests

  • Networks
  • Food flows
  • Food supply chains
  • Water Footprints
  • Virtual Water Trade

Research Areas

Selected Articles in Journals

  • Karakoc, D.B. and M. Konar (2025) Resilience, sustainability, and cost trade-offs in agri-food transportation infrastructure in the United States, Nature Food, doi: 10.1038/s43016-025-01128-9.
  • Karakoc, D.B. and M. Konar (2024) Optimization of national grain imports to balance risk and return: A portfolio theory approach, Environmental Research: Food Systems, Vol 1, No 011001, doi: 10.1088/2976-601X/ad22d1.
  • Pandit, A., D.B. Karakoc, and M. Konar (2023) Spatially detailed agricultural and food trade between China and the United States, Environmental Research Letters, Vol 18, No 8, doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/ace72c.
  • Karakoc, D.B., M. Konar, M.J. Puma, and L.R. Varshney (2023) Structural chokepoints determine the resilience of agri-food supply chains in the United States, Nature Food, Vol 4, pp. 607-615, doi: 10.1038/s43016-023-00793-y.
  • Ruess, P.J., M. Konar, N.Wanders, and M. Bierkens (2023) Irrigation by crop in the Continental United States from 2008 to 2020, Water Resources Research, doi: 10.1029/2022WR032804.
  • Wang, J., D.B. Karakoc, and M. Konar (2022) The carbon footprint of cold chain food flows in the United States, Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, doi: 10.1088/2634-4505/ac676d.
  • Karakoc, D.B. and M. Konar (2021) A complex network framework for the efficiency and resilience trade-off in global food trade, Environmental Research Letters, Vol 16, pp. 105003, doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/ac1a9b.
  • Jackson, N., M. Konar, P. Debaere and J. Sheffield (2021) Crop-specific exposure to extreme temperature and moisture for the globe for the last half century, Environmental Research Letters, Vol 16, Issue 6, pp. 064006, doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/abf8e0.
  • Gumidyala, S., P.J. Ruess, M. Konar, L. Marston, C. Dalin, and Y. Wada, (2020) Groundwater depletion embedded in transfers and exports of the United States, Water Resources Research, Vol 56, Issue 2, pp. e2019WR024986, doi: 10.1029/2019WR024986.
  • Jackson, N., M. Konar, P. Debaere, and L. Estes (2019) Probabilistic global maps of crop-specific areas from 1961 to 2014, Environmental Research Letters, doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/ab3b93.
  • Lin, X., P.J. Ruess, L. Marston, and M. Konar (2019) Food flows between counties in the United States, Environmental Research Letters, doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/ab29ae
  • Marston, L., Y. Ao, M. Konar, M. Mekonnen, and A.Y. Hoekstra (2018), High-resolution water footprints of production of the United States, Water Resources Research, Vol 54, doi: 10.1002/2017WR021923.
  • Dang, Q. and M. Konar (2018), Trade openness and domestic water use, Water Resources Research, doi: 10.1002/2017WR021102.
  • Deryugina, T., and M. Konar (2017), Impacts of crop insurance on water withdrawals for irrigation, Advances in Water Resources, Vol 110, pp. 437-444, doi: 10.1016/j.advwatres.2017.03.013.
  • Marston, L. and M. Konar (2017), Drought impacts to water footprints and virtual water transfers of the Central Valley of California, Water Resources Research, Vol 53, doi: 10.1002/2016WR020251.
  • Marston, L., M. Konar, X. Cai, and T. Troy (2015), Virtual groundwater transfers from overexploited aquifers in the United States, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol 112, No 28, pp. 8561-8566, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1500457112.
  • Lin, X., Q. Dang, and M. Konar (2014), A network analysis of food flows within the United States of America, Environmental Science & Technology, Vol 48, Issue 10, pp. 5439-5447, doi: 10.1021/es500471d.
  • Dalin, C., M. Konar, N. Hanasaki, A. Rinaldo and I. Rodriguez-Iturbe, (2012), Evolution of the global virtual water trade network, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol 109, Issue 16, pp. 5989-5994, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1203176109.
  • Konar, M., C. Dalin, S. Suweis, N. Hanasaki, A. Rinaldo and I. Rodriguez-Iturbe (2011), Water for food: The global virtual water trade network, Water Resources Research, Vol 47, Issue 5, W05520, doi: 10.1029/2010WR010307.

Magazine Articles

  • What the War in Ukraine Means for the World's Food Supply, Op-Ed in The New York Times, with Michael J. Puma, 01 March 2022.

Journal Editorships

  • Editorial Board, Environmental Research Water, 2024-current
  • Associate Editor, Water Resources Research, 2019-current

Honors

  • Fellow, American Geophysical Union (2024)
  • James B. Macelwane Medal, American Geophysical Union (2024)
  • Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize, American Society of Civil Engineers (2022)
  • Dean's Award for Excellence in Research, UIUC (2022)
  • Campus Distinguished Promotion Award, UIUC (2020)
  • Graduate Research Fellowship Program, National Science Foundation (2007)

Teaching Honors

  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent (CEE 350) (Fall 2024)

Recent Courses Taught

  • CEE 350 - Water Resources Engineering
  • CEE 595 EWS - EWES Seminar
  • CEE 595 W (CEE 595 WO) - Hydro Engr Seminar
  • CEE 598 GW (CEE 598 GWO) - Globalization of Water

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