Stefan Felder

Associate Professor Stefan Felder is a leading expert in hydraulic engineering and applied fluid mechanics at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW). With a Dipl.-Ing. from RWTH Aachen University and a PhD from the University of Queensland, he established the hydraulic engineering research group at the UNSW Water Research Laboratory in 2014. Internationally recognized for innovations in air-water flow measurement, fish passage solutions, and remote sensing technologies, his work bridges laboratory-scale modeling with field-scale applications.

• Education: Dipl.-Ing. (2008) RWTH Aachen, PhD (2013) University of Queensland
• Leadership Roles: Chair of Research Management Group at WRL, Vice-Chair of IAHR Hydraulic Structures Committee

Research Focus: Experimental hydraulics, fishway design, climate change impacts on estuarine systems, and advanced instrumentation development. His work pioneers LIDAR applications for flow analysis and air-water probe technologies.

Grants & Projects: Chief Investigator on $6.2M+ in grants including NSW fishway installations, Swiss hydrodynamic safety studies, and international collaborations on sustainable hydraulic systems.

• Scientific Awards:
  • Karl Emil Hilgard Hydraulics Prize (ASCE) 2023
  • JD Lawson Scholarship (Engineers Australia) 2017
  • University of Queensland Dean’s Award for PhD Excellence 2013
  • DTK Travel Grant for Dipl.-Ing. Thesis 2008