The Mill City Times Interview: Lian Shen, Director and Barbara Heitkamp, Communications Specialist at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory

Article by Becky Fillinger 

As I walk over the Stone Arch Bridge, I often look over at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory and wonder what goes on there. If you’re curious like me, I have answers! Barbara Heitkamp and Lian Shen give us the history of the laboratory and a description of the world class research being conducted in our neighborhood. 

Q:  When was the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL) established? 

Barbara:  The idea of the University hosting a research facility on Hennepin Island was first explored in the early 1900s, but it wasn’t until the arrival of Lorenz Straub, a new Civil Engineering faculty, in 1930 that the idea truly began to take shape. Straub was fascinated with the use of experiments and physical modeling to help inform engineering design, particularly as it pertains to hydraulic structures in rivers (dams, levees, flood control, etc).

Barbara HeitcampOnce Straub saw the position of the St. Anthony Falls adjacent to Hennepin Island, he wanted any lab design to take advantage of the 50-foot drop of water over the falls. His design allowed for a supply channel directly from the Mississippi River that would divert up to 300 cubic ft/second (about 2,200 gallons per second) river water through the building gravitationally.

Straub was able to secure funding from the Works Progress Administration in 1935 and ground was broken to build the lab in 1936. The building was dedicated in November 1938, and Straub was installed as the first director (he took a break for a period for WWII, but served as the director until his death in the early 1960s).

Q:  Tell us about the mission of the SAFL.

Barbara: Our mission is threefold:

• To advance fundamental knowledge in engineering, environmental, geophysical, and biological fluid mechanics by conducting cross-cutting research that integrates disciplines in science and engineering;
• To benefit society by implementing this knowledge to develop physics-based, affordable, and sustainable engineering solutions to major environmental, water, ecosystem, health, and energy-related problems; and
• To disseminate new knowledge to UMN students, the engineering and scientific community, and the public by educational and outreach activities and partnerships with government and industry.      

Let’s put it another way - SAFL is committed to conducting cutting-edge research as it pertains to fluids (e.g. water and air) across different disciplines, but it's not only about forwarding knowledge in the field. It's also about applying new knowledge to help address major concerns and problems as it pertains to the environment, ecosystems, energy and health. We regularly work with different stakeholders across the University, other institutions, and in industry and government to provide applied solutions and approaches to problems. We also recognize the importance of telling these research and application stories to all different types of audiences, be it other researchers, government officials, or the general public. We take seriously the training of the next generation of scientists and instilling in them the value of speaking to their work to various audiences - to better tell the stories of what they do and why it's important.  

Lian ShenQ:  What is it like to lead SAFL?

Lian:  Leading the SAFL is an amazing experience for me every day. I always feel thrilled standing inside the building and looking at the historic pictures on the walls and the magnificent waterfall outside of the windows. Some of the experiment facilities are older than me and some are brand-new equipment generating high-quality experiment data. It is a great honor for me to be part of this world-renowned laboratory.  

Q:  What projects are underway now at SAFL that we would easily understand?

Barbara: SAFL is operating at a reduced capacity due to the pandemic, but we have established processes aligned with the University’s “Sunrise Plan” that allow us to continue research.

Current projects include:

Investigating the impact of boat wakes on lake bottoms and shorelines: As recreational boating continues to grow in Minnesota, so do some of the boat wakes associated with larger recreational watercraft. There is concern about the impacts of those wakes (and propeller wash) on lake bottoms and shorelines. We crowd-funded over $130K this summer and fall to begin a data collection program looking to measure wake energy propagation from different types of watercraft toward lake shorelines. You can read more and see the latest updates here.

Assessing the use of permeable pavement for reducing road salt use: In the winter, we are all familiar with seeing road salt being distributed on the roads. However, the chloride in road salt can eventually infiltrate embankments and pollute groundwater and nearby waterways. One alternative method to salting being explored and tested is using permeable pavement where incoming precipitation infiltrates into the ground versus pooling and freezing on the road. A final project report just came out – you can read a summary of findings here.

New grant looking to develop novel imaging techniques to better understand wind/atmospheric flow:  One of our faculties was recently awarded a $1+ million National Science Foundation grant to develop some new imaging techniques to better understand flows in the atmosphere – looking at phenomena such as snow settling (think better snow accumulation forecasts!), pollen dispersal, and flows around wind turbines (to help reduce inefficiencies and boost power production). Read more about it here.

A view of the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory from the Stone Arch Bridge. Photo: Pat O'Leary

Q:  Who are the researchers at SAFL - U undergrads, U grad students, individuals from other institutions? 

Barbara: Our researchers include faculty and their graduate student research groups from various departments across the University (most within the College of Science and Engineering) as well as our own dedicated applied research team. That team provides assistance with faculty projects as well taking on their own applied research projects. We have approximately 18 affiliated faculty, around 40 graduate students (plus an additional 10 or so post-doctoral researchers) and 15 applied researchers.

We unfortunately don’t host many undergraduates in the building, although some faculty may hire an undergraduate helper here and there. We also usually hire some undergraduates to help in our shop (we have our own full machine and fabrication shop on site) throughout the year and in the summer, usually have a few open paid internships for undergrads as well.

We routinely host visiting researchers, be they from other academic institutions or from industry. SAFL has a unique blend of experimental facilities and expertise that make it attractive for lots of other researchers and one of my favorite inside jokes is that we are more well known internationally among academic circles then we are in downtown Minneapolis!

The Outdoor StreamLab is an experimental channel (viewable from adjacent Water Power Park) used for research involving the interactions of flow, sediment and vegetation. Photo: SAFL

Q:  How does SAFL make a difference? 

Barbara: SAFL recently celebrated its 82 year anniversary, so if there is one trait that truly makes SAFL unique, is that it has the ability to grow and evolve to meet the current needs of society. While other academic institutions have pieces of what SAFL has in terms of facilities and resources, our facilities plus our experienced staff and legacy of research is something that really makes SAFL shine.

Because we have the ability to use experiments, physical models, field campaigns and numerical modeling to address research questions, we really can approach issues from a variety of angles, which helps boost confidence in the end research ‘product’ so to speak. The University of Minnesota hallmark is “Driven to Discover” and that is reflected in making sure we do research that looks to help improve our lives, including living more sustainability and better managing our natural resources.

SAFL manages and operates a full-scale research wind turbine located near Rosemount, MN. Photo: Pat O'Leary

Our research focus has broadened significantly since the early years of the laboratory, and that’s because we shift to address what people are concerned about and the environmental issues of the day. We have projects looking to improve water quality in both urban and rural areas, we look at mitigating flooding issues in southern Minnesota by better understanding the impacts of climate change on the watershed and the existing geology and land practices, we built our own wind energy field research station to better advance the technology and improve accessibility to what has emerged as one of the most competitive renewable energy sources, and as referenced above with the boat wake work and hydropower work.

Q:  What excites you most about where SAFL is headed/going?

Lian:  It is exciting to work with our talented and dedicated faculty, researchers, students and staff to tackle so many scientific and engineering problems on the environment, renewable energy and human health.  There are many things that excite me, such as seeing new students in their orientations, students graduating, and new faculty and staff members joining the lab. Before the pandemic, it always gave me a nice surprise when I saw new experiments started in the Lab. Currently because of COVID-19, the Lab is operating with limited resumption of research activities. Research still goes on in the Lab under the state and university guidance with great care given to the health and safety of researchers. Some of our faculty and students are performing research on COVID-19 directly, and have obtained groundbreaking results on the mechanism of disease indoor airborne transmission. I very much look forward to the day when the Lab is fully reopened after the pandemic is over. By that time, SAFL will enter a new era for research and education.

SAFL's largest 'flume' or channel can use up to 300 cfs (cubic feet per second) of Mississippi River water for research projects.

Q:  In non-pandemic times, do you offer tours?

Barbara:  We do! We host one general public tour each month, usually the third Wednesday or Thursday of the month. People can sign up using the University of Minnesota events calendar.

Q:  How may we stay current on SAFL news?

Barbara: You can stay current by visit the news section of our SAFL website or through our social media on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, or our YouTube Channel.