To view this program click here https://youtu.be/jhJTcO1y6J0 or on the View Program link above.

Learn about the engineering and ecology of dam removal.

Dam removal is now a common strategy for managing our nation's aging infrastructure and correcting the environmental impacts of deadbeat dams. However, managers must make decisions regarding if and how to remove dams, and how to address stakeholder concerns about potential negative effects, regardless of whether these concerns are warranted at a particular site. In this seminar, Desiree Tullos presents an overview of how dams are removed, and the common concerns and design issues that managers and stakeholders face prior to, during, and following dam removals.

Desiree Tullos, PhD, PE (OR) is a Professor in the Biological and Ecological Engineering Department at Oregon State University. Her research emphasizes the sustainable engineering and management of rivers. Projects focus on questions that range from the particle to basin scale, including a) Physical and biological responses to dam removal; b) Analysis of reservoir operations in systems undergoing change; c) Turbulence and habitat of flow around vegetation and wood in rivers, and d) Sustainable flood risk management and infrastructure. Her research also has an international dimension, as the PI of an NSF-funded project on hydropower development in China, examining mountain flood risk in India, and as a Fulbright scholar studying reservoir sediment management in Taiwan. She currently serves on the Independent Scientific Review Panel for Bonneville Power Administration's Northwest Power and Conservation Council and the board of directors for the Natural Heritage Institute, and has served on two National Research Council committees. Her teaching emphasizes design-based learning: River Engineering, Ecohydraulic Engineering, and Ecological Engineering – Systems Analysis. She has also served as the PI of an NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program on Ecosystem Informatics for twelve years as part of a broader suite of activities aimed at advancing diversity in the STEM fields.