Gary Parker Morpho-dynamics Laboratory

A member of the CEE at Illinois faculty since 2005, Professor Gary Parker is the only current faculty member to be named to the National Academy of Sciences, and only the third faculty member to receive this honor in the history of the department; the first was Nathan Newmark, and the second was Don U. Deere. Parker’s major research interests are the mechanics of sediment-laden flow in rivers and turbidity currents, and resulting flow-boundary morphodynamic interactions. His current efforts focus on delta evolution, bedrock-alluvial transitions, bedrock meandering, drainage network formation, advection-dispersion of tracer pebbles, formation of continental shelves, muddy tidal morphodynamics, role of washload in rivers, long-runout turbidity currents and natural dam formation in meteogenic travertine systems. He is also a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and has received numerous awards from the American Society of Civil Engineers and the International Association of Hydraulic Research. Additional funding is required to fully furnish and equip this lab.