Page 9 - CEGE Magazine Fall 2024

Judy Yang, a professor in CEGE, is especially interested
in the macroscopic impacts of microscopic elements. Her
research has a compound focus on microscopic elements
(microbes) and the macroscopic impacts they can have in our
environment, including riverine and coastal erosion, harmful
algal blooms, or even the spread of pathogens in teeth and
tissues. Not many researchers tackle both micro- and macro-
issues. Perhaps one reason for this is that to do so requires
an integration of knowledge and methodologies across
different fields.
As an affiliate of the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, Yang
has access to a river flume up to 50 meters long for macro
experiments. She is also trained as a microbiologist and
conducts microfluidic experiments that allow her to visualize
tiny microbes and particles much smaller than the diameter
of a human hair. “My group is in a unique position to pioneer
a new research direction,” explains Yang, “because we are
one of the few groups in the world that have expertise in both
microfluidics and larger flume experiments backed up with
knowledge in both microbiology and fluid mechanics.”
Yang and her research group, The Environmental Transport
Lab at the University of Minnesota, are interested in
understanding the relationships between microbes and
our landscapes and our health. They study how microbes,
contaminants, and carbon move through sediment and soil,
and then strive to apply this fundamental understanding to
a wide range of environmental and health related issues,
including erosion, contaminant transport, and bacterial
infections.
Yang joined the faculty in CEGE in 2020, when so much
of the world was locked down because of the pandemic.
1 m 10-3 m 10-6 m
Mesoscale Bacterial Imaging Microfluidic Experiments
Macroscale Flume Experiments
2 cm
Small substances,
large impacts:
Judy Yang bridges multiscale
and interdisciplinary
approaches to tackle complex
environmental challenges
JUDY YANG
FACULTY PROFILE
Small elements, even those we cannot see, have a very large impact on our environment
University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering | DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND GEO- ENGINEERING 9
Yang aims to unravel intricate fluid-particle-biota interactions through multiscale
and interdisciplinary experiments. Her research group studies how tiny microbes,
contaminants, and carbon move through soil/sediment and water.