Courses in model calibration, model uncertainty analysis, and the application of the program PEST are presented by the author of PEST, Dr. John Doherty, throughout the world.  Multi-day courses have a strong practical aspect, where participants are guided through exercises designed to illustrate important facets of model calibration, experimental design, and predictive analysis.  At these courses, participants are also encouraged to bring their own models to investigate the use of PEST.  One-day workshops are occasionally presented that serve to introduce attendees to the theory and application of inverse modeling.

Introductory and Advanced PEST Courses: Richland, Washington, May 17-18, 2010

General    

This will be a compressed “Double Header” PEST course, comprised of the material normally covered in the two-day “Introduction to PEST” course and subsequent two-day “Advanced Analysis using PEST” course.

The introductory course will be most suitable to modelers who have little to no experience with inverse methods. This course will comprise a balance of about 60:40 lectures and hands-on-exercises, with the aim of providing theoretical background on inverse methods based on least-squares, and practical experience in their implementation in conjunction with a range of environmental models. This course will include many examples from the groundwater modeling context, together with other environmental modeling applications.

In the advanced course the emphasis will turn to highly parameterized inversion in calibration of ground and surface water models, and in exploration of the uncertainty associated with the parameters and predictions associated with these models. Topics covered in detail will include the use of pilot points as a parameterization device; advanced regularization techniques; the “SVD-assist” technique for efficient inversion of highly parameterized models; linear and nonlinear analysis of uncertainty - including the recently-developed and highly expedient null-space Monte Carlo methodology that is unique to PEST; and methods for optimizing future data acquisition to reduce uncertainty. This course will comprise a balance of about 90% lectures and 10% hands-on exercises. However, there will be ample room for discussion.

Furthermore, participants in either course will be provided with a CD containing 12 hands-on exercises which they can take away with them to study at their leisure.

A detailed course outline for a 4-day combined Introductory and Advanced course is available for download here. The two-day combined Introductory and Advanced course will follow this course outline, but will be compressed to fit within the two-day schedule. The course daily schedule including start and end times will be emailed to each participant in advance of the course(s).  The outline is available for download here. 

Course Fee Structure

Introductory and Advanced Course Double Header

$500 individual - private industry/federal or state employee/student

$5500 group rate (up to 15 persons)

Course Venue

The Introductory and Advanced PEST Courses will be held in Room 210 at the Consolidated Information Center (CIC), on the Tri-Cities campus of  Washington State University (WSU) in Richland.

Additional information about the Tri-Cities Washington State University Campus and driving directions can be found here.

Accommodations

No specific group accommodation package has been arranged for this two-day course event. However, there are several hotels in the Richland area that offer accommodations in close proximity to the planned course venue. These include the following:

The Hampton Inn, Richland

The Red Lion, Richland

The Clarion Inn, Richland

Further Information

For any further information on either or both courses, please write to:  pest@sspa.com
Our cancellation policy can be found here.

Please note:  If you are registering for someone other than yourself, please use the "Add Special Instructions to Merchant" feature within PayPal.  This feature will allow you to submit the name, email and phone number of the party who will be attending the course.

Registration