Jennifer Duan

Jennifer Duan is a Professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences and the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on hydraulics, sediment transport, and fluvial geomorphology, with expertise in experimental studies and computational modeling of turbulent flow, sediment transport dynamics, and channel morphological processes.

Dr. Duan holds a PhD in computational hydroscience and engineering from the University of Mississippi. She leads research initiatives addressing water quality modeling, surface-groundwater interactions, and the application of advanced technologies like drone-based monitoring for discharge estimation.

Her work integrates field experiments, numerical simulations, and machine learning to solve complex environmental and engineering challenges. Notably, she has pioneered studies on post-wildfire hydrological impacts, sediment transport in vegetated channels, and pathogen resuspension in irrigation systems. She also actively mentors early-career professionals through initiatives like the Mentoring Institute for Sediment Transport (MIST).

Dr. Duan’s contributions span interdisciplinary applications, including flood fragility analysis for infrastructure resilience and net-zero urban water systems. Her research has direct implications for sustainable water management, environmental restoration, and disaster mitigation.