The vibrant campus of University of Iowa is part of the Iowa City/Coralville metropolitan area (population 150,000). The University of Iowa campus is a popular place for holding international meetings because of its good infrastructure, compact easy-to-walk downtown campus area, large number of hotels, reasonable accommodation prices at the downtown hotels, and personal safety. Most places of interest are within walking distance.

The University of Iowa has a long tradition of excellence in Environmental Hydraulics Research mainly via the research conducted by faculty, research scientists and graduate students associated with the Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research (IIHR-Hydroscience and Engineering). IIHR-Hydroscience and Engineering is a world-renowned center for hydraulics education, research and public service with a history of more than 100 years. Two main components of IIHR are the Lucille A. Carver Mississippi Riverside Environmental Research Station (LACMRERS), the first university-owned facility on the Upper Mississippi River focusing on environmental hydraulics research, and the Iowa Flood Center, the nation’s first university-based center for study and research dedicated to floods.