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A University of Arizona professor will lead the new Arizona Water Institute, a collaboration of water-related research at the three state universities that is intended to make Arizona the premier state for water science.

Kathy Jacobs, an associate professor of soils, water and environmental science and specialist with the UA Water Resources Research Center, will be the executive director of the new center, Gov. Janet Napolitano announced Tuesday.

Originally conceived as the Arizona Virtual Water University, the Arizona Water Institute will unite the state's leading experts in all areas of water research. There are more than 430 water researchers already at the state universities, with nearly 75 percent housed in 30 different departments at the UA.

"The combination of Arizona's universities expertise is unparalleled," Jacobs said. "We're looking to really market not only the technology but the water management expertise of the state."

Proposed by Napolitano in November at the 85th annual Arizona Town Hall, the institute will coordinate research at the universities and build on different areas of expertise to bring in millions of dollars of grants.

The UA is home to most of the state's recognized water experts, including a hydrology department that ranks as the country's best. Arizona State University has expertise in urban sustainability of water, while Northern Arizona University specializes in forest-related water research.

The Arizona Board of Regents has earmarked $150,000 in Proposition 301 funding to cover the salary and administrative expenses of the executive director.

The institute will promote capacity building and decision support for Arizona communities, provide access to the latest information and research, provide education in water-related issues and focus on economic development and technology transfer, Jacobs said.

Also, the design of the institute will enhance research opportunities across the three universities.

"The federal agencies will be really interested in this approach because it is connected directly to problem solving," Jacobs said. "Arizona has huge capacity relative to water related research across the three universities."

The institute is a dramatic expansion of the approach universities have taken historically. Water research is scattered at the UA and the institute will build bridges between researchers on campus as well as plug them in with colleagues at ASU and NAU.

The new name will more accurately reflect the institute's mission. Researchers were concerned about the Virtual Water University name because it won't grant degrees and was vague, Jacobs said.

Jacobs is also deputy director of the National Science Foundation Center for Sustainability of semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas at the UA. She was director of the Tucson Active Management Area from 1988 to 2001.