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Fun Facts about the Falls

SAFL to Celebrate 70th Anniversary with Fluid Mechanics Symposium

Who We Are

SAFL is the world's only fluid-mechanics laboratory that uses a natural waterfall as its prime water source. For nearly 70 years researchers from around the world have been visiting our unique location on an island in the Mississippi River to conduct research for developing innovative and sustainable engineering solutions to major environmental, water resources, and energy-related problems. We would like to extend our warmest invitation to visit our facilities and talk with our research staff and students.

SAFL is also proud to be the headquarters for the National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics (NCED), an NSF Science and Technology Center.

A one-day symposium will be organized as part of EM08 (the inaugural international conference of the Engineering Mechanics Institute) to commemorate SAFL's 70th anniversary, celebrate its rich history, and underscore the relevance and significance of such a unique interdisciplinary research facility in the face of the major environmental, water resources, and energy challenges confronting society today. The symposium will feature six invited speakers who are world leaders in areas which are topics of active fluid mechanics research in the laboratory. To register for the entire EM08 conference (May 18-21), please click here. The fluid mechanics symposium will take place on May 20.

For previous Research Spotlight pages, please click here.

Announcements

SAFL Alumni

Graduate student Chandana Gangodagamage received the 2008-2009 Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship. This is an all-University competition that gives outstanding final-year Ph.D. candidates an opportunity to complete their dissertation within the upcoming academic year.

Graduate student Amy Hansen received the Louise T. Dosdall Fellowship for the 2008-2009 school year. This is a University-wide fellowship awarded to 1-2 women per year showing exceptional promise for a successful career in research in science or engineering related fields.

Congratulations to Professors Fernando Porte-Agel and Fotis Sotiropoulos, who received a million dollar grant from the Xcel Energy Renewable Development Fund for the development of a virtual wind simulator for optimal design of wind energy projects. The goal of this project is to develop a multi-scale computational fluid dynamics framework for accurate high-resolution simulations of atmospheric turbulence and its interactions with wind turbines and wind energy parks. WindLogics and Barr Engineering will be collaborating with SAFL on this project.

Join the newly-formed Partnership for River Restoration and Science in the Upper Midwest (PRRSUM - pronounced "prism") at SAFL every second Tuesday at 4pm for presentations and discussions on important topics in river restoration and river research. Click here for info.

Interested in Minnesota water issues? Check out SAFL's new Outdoor StreamLab, currently under construction.

Congrats SAFL grads!
Click here to view photos of our recent graduates with their advisors.

Interested in what's going on at SAFL? Read the latest online version of SAFL's alumni newsletter:
The SAFL Channel

Want to stay in touch? Email us your current information for the Alumni Directory.

Would you like to be more involved with SAFL? Attend our weekly seminar series

Donations keep SAFL afloat. To learn more about making a tax-free contribution to the lab, please email safl@umn.edu

SAFL in The Rake magazine: Click here to read the article. Click here to watch a video tour of the lab.

Welcome Aboard! The lab continues to grow with many new Visiting Researchers, Students and Staff