River Modeling - Environmental Consulting

Qualifications

Michael MacWilliams Dr. MacWilliams has more than sixteen years of experience in the field of numerical modeling and twelve years of experience in computational fluid dynamics. His primary field of study is the application of state-of-the art three-dimensional numerical models to environmental flows. His Ph.D. research focused on the application of detailed three-dimensional hydrodynamic models to flow in river channels and on floodplains. In addition, Dr. MacWilliams has nine years of experience working as an environmental consultant using three-dimensional hydrodynamic models in estuarine systems. This work includes conducting detailed hydrodynamic and salinity modeling related to a large-scale restoration project of salt ponds in San Francisco Bay and hydrodynamic and salinity modeling in Suisun Bay to investigate the potential mechanisms underlying the relationships of fish abundance to flow (“Fish-X2”), which form the basis for the current salinity standard for the San Francisco estuary. Other recent projects include the application of the UnTRIM model to San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to assess potential impacts of sea level rise, Delta levee failures, the effects of Delta operations on Delta Smelt, and the potential water quality impacts of deepening the Sacramento and Stockton Deep Water Ship Channels.

Education

Ph.D., Stanford University, Environmental Fluid Mechanics & Hydrology with a

Ph.D. Minor in Geological & Environmental Sciences, 2004.

M.S., Stanford University, Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1998

B.S., University of Notre Dame, Engineering and Environmental Science, 1997

B.A., University of Notre Dame, English, 1997

Professional History

Environmental Consultant, May 2001 – present

Consulting Assistant Professor, June 2004 – present

Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University

Recent Awards

Lorenz G. Straub Award, 2004

This award is presented annually by the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory at the University of Minnesota for the most meritorious thesis in hydraulic engineering or related fields.

Recent Publications and Presentations

MacWilliams, M.L., M. R. Tompkins, R. L. Sreet, G. M. Kondolf, and P. K.

Kitanidis, An assessment of the effectiveness of a constructed compound channel river restoration project on an incised stream. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (in press)

Gross E.S., M. L. MacWilliams, and W. J. Kimmerer, 2009. Three-dimensional

modeling of tidal hydrodynamics in the San Francisco Estuary. San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science 7 (2).

Kimmerer, W. J., E. S. Gross, and M.L. MacWilliams, Is the response of the

estuarine nekton to freshwater flow in the San Francisco Estuary explained by variation in habitat volume, Estuaries and Coasts, 32: 375-389, DOI 10.1007/s12237-008-9124-x, 2009.

MacWilliams, M.L., Salcedo, F.G., and E.S. Gross, 2008. San Francisco Bay-

Delta UnTRIM Model Calibration Report, POD 3-D Particle Tracking Modeling Study, Prepared for California Department of Water Resources, December 19, 2008, 344 p.

MacWilliams, M. L., Kitanidis, P. K., and R. L. Street, Numerical simulation of flow

in incised and compound channels for evaluation of river restoration design, Inaugural International Conference of the Engineering Mechanics Institute, EM08, Minneapolis, MN, 2008.

MacWilliams, M. L., E. S. Gross, J. F. DeGeorge, and R. R. Rachielle, Three-

dimensional hydrodynamic modeling of the San Francisco Estuary on an unstructured grid, accepted for IAHR, 32nd Congress, Venice Italy, July 1-6, 2007.

Gross, E.S., N. J. Nidzieko, L. L. MacWilliams, and M. T. Stacy, 2007.

Parameterization of estuarine mixing processes in the San Francisco Estuary based on analysis of three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations, Proceedings of the Estuarine and Coastal Modeling Conference, ECM10, ASCE.

MacWilliams, M. L., Jr., J. M. Wheaton, G. B. Pasternack, R. L. Street, and P. K.

Kitanidis, Flow convergence routing hypothesis for pool-riffle maintenance in alluvial rivers, Water Resour. Res., 42, W10427, doi:10.1029/2005WR004391, 2006. (click here for full pdf)

MacWilliams, M. L., and R. T. Cheng, Three-dimensional hydrodynamic

modeling of San Pablo Bay on an unstructured grid, The 7th Int. Conf. on Hydroscience and Engineering (ICHE-2006), Sep. 10 – Sep. 13, Philadelphia, USA, 2006. (click here for full proceedings)

Gross, E. S., M. L. MacWilliams and W. Kimmerer, Simulating Periodic

Stratification in San Francisco Bay, Proceedings of the Estuarine and Coastal Modeling Conference, ASCE, 2006.

MacWilliams, M. L., E. S. Gross, and W. Kimmerer, Simulating salt intrusion into

Suisun Bay and the Western Delta, State of the Estuary, 2005.

MacWilliams, M. L., Three-dimensional Hydrodynamic Simulation of River

Channels and Floodplains, Ph.D. Dissertation, Stanford University, 222 p., March, 2004.

MacWilliams, M. L., R. L. Street, and P. K. Kitanidis, Modeling Floodplain Flow on

Lower Deer Creek, CA, River Flow 2004: Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Fluvial Hydraulics, Greco, Carravetta, & Della Morte (eds.), Vol. 2, 1429-1439, Balkema, 2004.

Gross, E. S., M. L. MacWilliams, and W. Kimmerer, Three-dimensional

Hydrodynamic Modeling to Improve Understanding of Mechanisms Relating Flow to Abundance of Estuarine Biota, Proceedings of the CALFED Bay-Delta Program Science Conference, 2004.

Gross, E. S., M. L. MacWilliams, and D. Schaaf, Three-dimensional Salinity

Simulations in Tidal Sloughs, Proceedings of the CALFED Bay-Delta Program Science Conference, 2004.

MacWilliams, M. L., R. L. Street, and P. K. Kitanidis, Modeling Floodplain Flow on

Lower Deer Creek, CALFED Science Conference 2003: Advances in Science and Restoration in the Bay, Delta and Watershed, Abstract Volume, p.109, January 2003.

MacWilliams, M. L., R. L. Street, and P. K. Kitanidis, Numerical Simulation of Flow

in Compound Channels, EOS Trans. AGU, 83(47), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract H72B-0852, 2002.

MacWilliams, M. L., Hydrodynamic Modeling and River Restoration, presented at

California Water and Environmental Modeling Forum (formerly known as the Bay-Delta Modeling Forum), February 2002.

MacWilliams, M. L., Street, R. L., and Kitanidis, P.K., Modeling Shear Stresses in

Incised and Multi-Stage Channels, EOS Trans. AGU, 80(46), Fall Meet. Suppl., p. F448, 1999.

MacWilliams, Michael L. and Peter K. Kitanidis, A Geostatistical Approach to the

Inverse Problem for Transient Groundwater Flow, EOS Trans. AGU, 79(45), Fall Meet. Suppl., p. F291, 1998.

Michael MacWilliams

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