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Gary Parker

Profile picture for Gary Parker

Contact Information

3105 Digital Computer Lab MC 250
1304 W. Springfield
Urbana Illinois 61801
Professor Emeritus

Biography

Gary Parker joined the faculty of the Environmental Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering group in the summer of 2005. He holds a 75 percent appointment in the Depart­ment of Civil and Environmental Engineering and a 25 per­cent appointment in the Department of Geology, where he is the W.H. Johnson Professor of Geology.

Professor Parker received a B.S. from the Department of Mechanics and Materials Science of Johns Hopkins University (1971) and a Ph.D. from the Department of Civil Engineering of the Uni­versity of Minnesota (1974). Before coming to the University of Illinois, he was an Institute of Technology Distinguished Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Minne­sota. During the period 1995-1999, he also served as Director of the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, a water resources/fluid mechanics laboratory in the same department.

Prof. Parker was elected a Fellow of the American Geophysi­cal Union in 2003, and received the G.K. Warren Award in Fluviatile Geomorphology in 2002. He has received the Schoemaker Award twice and the Ippen Award from the International Association of Hydraulic Research, and the Einstein Award, Hilgard Prize and Stevens Award from the American Society of Civil Engi­neers. In 1991 he also received the University of Minnesota In­stitute of Technology Outstand­ing Teacher Award. In addi­tion to numerous journal articles, he has written an e-book, “1D Sediment Transport Morphodynamics with Applica­tions to Rivers and Turbidity Currents.” Parker teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in flu­id mechanics, river engineering, sediment transport. One of Prof. Parker's major research goals is to use the fundamental techniques of fluid mechanics and applied mathematics to treat interesting geomorphological problems. Related special research includes mechanics of river meandering; oceanic turbidity currents; sorting of mixed grain sediment by fluvial processes; bank erosion and protection using permeable dikes and vegetation; and reservoir sedimentation. Development of a mechanistic understanding of the processes involved with sediment transport in rivers and the ocean environment, and the morphologies they create, is of prime importance. River meander migration research has led to the development of computer models that predict channel shift and can therefore be used in the design of floodplain structures such as bridges, intakes, etc. In addition, research on depositional submarine fans has been found useful to oil companies as a means of helping locate oil deposits.

Education

  • PhD, Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota, 1974
  • BS, Dept. of Mechanics and Materials Science, Johns Hopkins University, 1971

Awards and Honors

HONORS

  • Water Resources Research Editor's Choice Award (2014)
  • American Geophysical Union G. K. Gilbert Award (2014)
  • BSG Wiley Blackwell Award (2012 )
  • Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, EWRI, ASCE (2012 )
  • Tau Beta Pi Daniel C. Drucker Eminent Faculty Award, University of Illinois (2012 )
  • 5th International Symposium on Submarine Mass Movement and their Consequences, Kyoto, Japan (2011)
  • Japan Society of Civil Engineering Hydroscience and Hydraulic Engineering (2009)
  • M. Selim Yalin Lifetime Achievement Award, International Association for Hydraulic Research (2007)
  • Fellow, American Geophysical Union (2003)
  • Harold Jan Schoemaker Award, International Association for Hydraulic Research (2003)

TEACHING HONORS

  • Frequently on Incomplete List of teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students (2006-present)
  • University of Minnesota Institute of Technology Outstanding Teacher Award (1991)

RESEARCH HONORS

  • Water Resources Research Editor's Choice Award (2014)
  • American Geophysical Union G. K. Gilbert Award (2014)
  • BSG Wiley Blackwell Award (2012)
  • Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, EWRI, ASCE (2012)
  • Tau Beta Pi Daniel C. Drucker Eminent Faculty Award, University of Illinois (2012)
  • 5th International Symposium on Submarine Mass Movement and their Consequences, Kyoto, Japan (2011)
  • Lifetime Research Award, Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System Morphogynamics (2010)
  • Japan Society of Civil Engineering Committee on hydroscience and Hydraulic Engineering Best Paper Award (2009)
  • IAHR M. Selim Yalin Lifetime Achievement Award (2007)
  • Awarded W. H. Johnson Professorship, Department of Geology, University of Illinois (2005)

Additional Campus Affiliations

Grainger Distinguished Chair Emeritus, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Professor Emeritus, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Honors & Awards

HONORS

  • Water Resources Research Editor's Choice Award (2014)
  • American Geophysical Union G. K. Gilbert Award (2014)
  • BSG Wiley Blackwell Award (2012 )
  • Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, EWRI, ASCE (2012 )
  • Tau Beta Pi Daniel C. Drucker Eminent Faculty Award, University of Illinois (2012 )
  • 5th International Symposium on Submarine Mass Movement and their Consequences, Kyoto, Japan (2011)
  • Japan Society of Civil Engineering Hydroscience and Hydraulic Engineering (2009)
  • M. Selim Yalin Lifetime Achievement Award, International Association for Hydraulic Research (2007)
  • Fellow, American Geophysical Union (2003)
  • Harold Jan Schoemaker Award, International Association for Hydraulic Research (2003)

TEACHING HONORS

  • Frequently on Incomplete List of teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students (2006-present)
  • University of Minnesota Institute of Technology Outstanding Teacher Award (1991)

RESEARCH HONORS

  • Water Resources Research Editor's Choice Award (2014)
  • American Geophysical Union G. K. Gilbert Award (2014)
  • BSG Wiley Blackwell Award (2012)
  • Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, EWRI, ASCE (2012)
  • Tau Beta Pi Daniel C. Drucker Eminent Faculty Award, University of Illinois (2012)
  • 5th International Symposium on Submarine Mass Movement and their Consequences, Kyoto, Japan (2011)
  • Lifetime Research Award, Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System Morphogynamics (2010)
  • Japan Society of Civil Engineering Committee on hydroscience and Hydraulic Engineering Best Paper Award (2009)
  • IAHR M. Selim Yalin Lifetime Achievement Award (2007)
  • Awarded W. H. Johnson Professorship, Department of Geology, University of Illinois (2005)

Recent Publications

Gao, C., Lazarus, E. D., D’Alpaos, A., Ghinassi, M., Ielpi, A., Parker, G., Rinaldo, A., Gao, P., Wang, Y. P., Tognin, D., & Finotello, A. (2024). Morphometry of Tidal Meander Cutoffs Indicates Similarity to Fluvial Morphodynamics. Geophysical Research Letters, 51(1), Article e2023GL105893. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL105893

Parker, G., An, C., Lamb, M. P., Garcia, M. H., Dingle, E. H., & Venditti, J. G. (2024). Dimensionless argument: a narrow grain size range near 2 mm plays a special role in river sediment transport and morphodynamics. Earth Surface Dynamics, 12(1), 367-380. https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-367-2024

Birch, S. P. D., Parker, G., Corlies, P., Soderblom, J. M., Miller, J. W., Palermo, R. V., Lora, J. M., Ashton, A. D., Hayes, A. G., & Perron, J. T. (2023). Reconstructing river flows remotely on Earth, Titan, and Mars. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(29), Article e2206837120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2206837120

Lin, Y., An, C., Zheng, S., Nie, R., Parker, G., Hassan, M. A., Czapiga, M. J., & Fu, X. (2023). Degradation of a Foreland River After the Wenchuan Earthquake, China: A Combined Effect of Weirs, Sediment Supply, and Sediment Mining. Water Resources Research, 59(10), Article e2023WR035345. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR035345

An, C., Fang, H., Zhang, L., Su, X., Fu, X., Huang, H. Q., Parker, G., Hassan, M. A., Meghani, N. A., Anders, A. M., & Wang, G. (2022). Poyang and Dongting Lakes, Yangtze River: Tributary lakes blocked by main-stem aggradation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119(30), Article e2101384119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2101384119

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