Christopher Thornton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Director of the Engineering Research Center and Hydraulics Laboratory at Colorado State University.
Thornton is currently the PI on the United States Army Corps of Engineers Full Scale Wave Overtopping Simulation project. This project is intended to simulate waves hitting levees, crashing across the top and accelerating down the backside to see what effect they have on different types of grass and armoring systems. In addition, during the past six years, work conducted at the Hydraulics Laboratory has been instrumental in defining and developing standards for performance testing of engineered erosion control solutions. Partnerships formed with other research institutions have resulted in interdisciplinary collaborations that have defined frameworks describing the complex problem of soil erosion and stability.
Thornton provides technical expertise to University and local communities in areas of hydraulics, open-channel flow, bio-engineering, river mechanics and erosion control. He supervises hydraulic modeling in areas of river mechanics, dam safety, flow measurement, erosion and sedimentation, riprap design, bank revetment and stabilization, stream monitoring, environmental aspects of rivers, hydraulic structures, and tailings management. Thornton earned his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University. He is a member of ASCE, ASTM, AWRA, ECTC, EWRI and IECA.
Laboratory Manager
Interests: Hydraulics and Water Management
Email: jeff.ellis@colostate.edu
Senior Research Scientist
Interests: Hydraulics, Hydraulic Structures, River Mechanics, Cold Regions Engineering
Email: Robert.Ettema@colostate.edu
Phone: (970) 491-8099
Associate Professor
Dr. Nelson’s research explains how gravel-bed rivers sort into distinct grain-size patches, how added fine sediment can destabilize coarse beds, and how sediment supply and layering influence alternate bar dynamics. He also studies post-wildfire sedimentation, urban watershed hydrology and design, fish passage at whitewater parks, bedrock river processes, and dam impacts on river form and habitat.
Email: Peter.Nelson@colostate.edu
Dr. Daniel (Danny) White, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dr. White studies how physical and biological processes interact in rivers to advance river science and inform management that supports ecosystem health and the wellbeing of local communities. His work combines field studies, lab experiments, and computational modeling.
Email: danny.white@colostate.edu
Phone: 970-491-0588
Assistant Professor
Dr. Chien-Yung Tseng is an Assistant Professor in the CEE department here at CSU. He is also the Principal Investigator of the Eco-Energy-Environmental (E3) Flow Physics Lab at the CSU Hydraulics Laboratory. Dr. Tseng aims to develop an understanding of complex, nonlinear physical mechanisms that will lead to more efficient engineering designs under various flow scenarios.
Email: cy.tseng@colostate.edu
