Corey Markfort
Biography
Corey Markfort is Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He is Head of the Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Research Engineer at IIHR—Hydroscience & Engineering. He is also a researcher in the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research.
He joined the University of Iowa faculty in 2014 after spending a year as a postdoc in the Wind Engineering and Renewable Energy Laboratory at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. Prior to that he was a Research Associate in the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL) at the University of Minnesota.
Markfort earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in structures from the University of Evansville in 2003. During that time he worked at the Indiana Department of Transportation where he conducted hydrologic analysis and hydraulic design of highway structures. This experience along with encouragement from faculty mentors led him to pursue and earn an M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 2005, focusing on water resources engineering at St. Anthony Falls Laboratory. He then practiced as a water resources engineer for three years at Bonestroo, Inc., where he gained experience leading multidisciplinary ecosystem restoration projects and mitigating stormwater pollution impacts on lakes and streams. In 2008 he returned to St. Anthony Falls as a graduate research fellow and earned a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering in 2013, specializing in environmental fluid mechanics.
Selected Awards and Honors
- Old Gold Early Faculty Fellowship, University of Iowa
- NASA—Earth and Space Science Fellowship
- NSF—Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship – IGERT Fellowship
- Alvin G. Anderson Award, for academic achievement in hydraulic engineering and water resources, University of Minnesota
- Frank and Julie Tsai Award, St. Anthony Falls Laboratory
- Outstanding Student Paper Award: Atmospheric Sciences Section, AGU Fall Meeting
- Outstanding Student Paper Award: Hydrology Section, AGU Fall Meeting
- Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need Fellowship
Research Interests
Markfort's research focus is on developing a comprehensive understanding of how fluid dynamics in the atmosphere and surface water bodies regulates changes in Earth's biosphere. This includes improving measurement and prediction of turbulent transport responsible for regulating exchanges of energy, momentum, and mass (e.g., water, CO2 and pollutants). With improved understanding of environmental flows, we are investigating approaches to sustainably generate electricity from renewable energy sources, including wind and river flows, as well as predict and mitigate environmental hazards to improve ecosystem services in a changing environment.
Areas of Expertise
- Environmental fluid mechanics
- Atmospheric boundary layer
- Wind energy
- Physical limnology
- Biosphere-atmosphere interactions
- Hydrology
- Water resources engineering
Teaching Interests
Markfort currently teaches an upper level course on Water Resources Engineering, and two graduate courses on Fluid Flows in Environmental Systems, and Watershed Hydrology and Ecosystem Processes.
Publications
