Chris Hammersmark, PhD, PE

Dr. Hammersmark is a registered civil engineer specializing in hydraulics, hydrology, geomorphology, ecology, and ecosystem rehabilitation/restoration. He has over 17 years of experience on a diverse array of projects involving stream, meadow and floodplain restoration, fish passage, sediment transport and water quality, flood inundation and water supply. The environmental settings for these projects range from natural to urban, from headwater streams and adjacent meadows and forests through lowland alluvial rivers to tidally influenced coastal rivers and estuaries. Dr. Hammersmark has extensive experience in the design and evaluation of estuarine, stream and river restoration/rehabilitation projects. Facets of this experience include the assessment of hydrologic, hydraulic, geomorphic and ecological effects of a variety of restoration and rehabilitation efforts (e.g., levee breaching, channel and floodplain reconfiguration, bank stabilization, dam removal, structure placement, and vegetation planting/removal). Assessments have included the collection and comparison of before and after physical and biological data, in addition to the utilization of hydraulic, hydrologic and statistical species prediction models to predict the potential outcome of proposed designs, as well as retrospectively evaluate the benefits gained. Drawing from his diverse academic and consulting background, Dr. Hammersmark seeks innovative and sustainable process-based solutions to complex multi-objective water resource and ecosystem restoration challenges, while operating within the specific constraints of each project.