Phanikumar Mantha

Dr. Phanikumar Mantha is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Michigan State University’s College of Engineering. His research focuses on water quality and environmental flow/transport processes in the Great Lakes and large river basins, combining field data with computational models. He leads the Computational Hydrology & Reactive Transport Modeling lab, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to address societal challenges like nutrient cycling, groundwater-surface water interactions, and climate impacts.

Education:

• Ph.D., Computational Fluid Dynamics and Thermal Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, India (1990)
• B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Andhra University, India (1984)

Research Interests:

• Coastal processes and water quality in the Great Lakes
• Integrated hydrologic modeling in large river basins
• Fate and transport of contaminants (nutrients, pathogens)
• Groundwater-surface water interactions

Awards:

• 2013 Fellow, Geological Society of America
• 2012 Member, CILER Council of Fellows
• 2004 Lilly Teaching Fellow
• 1996 C.V. Raman Young Scientist Award

Advising & Grants:

• Advised doctoral student Chelsea Weiskerger (2021)
• Recipient of multiple grants for Great Lakes and Amazon Basin studies

Labs/Teams: Computational Hydrology Lab at Michigan State University, collaborating on projects funded by NSF, NOAA, and international agencies.