Ellen Wohl is a renowned fluvial geomorphologist and University Distinguished Professor at Colorado State University, focusing on mountain rivers and their impact on ecosystems, with a particular interest in the role of logjams and beaver dams.  Her work has expanded our understanding of fundamental fluvial and watershed processes in diverse environments ranging from the Arctic to the tropics.

 

Wohl’s research on rivers, particularly those river channels with resistant boundaries of bedrock and large sediment clasts, ranges from examining hydraulics and sediment transport to studying biological-physical interactions and human impacts. Her work – on flow resistance, step-pool and other mountain channels, wood in river channels, and ecological aspects of stream corridors – is founded in field measurements.  Her work has dramatically influenced and guided river management and restoration worldwide. Wohl is the author of an extensive number of publications and books, introducing broad audiences to river science, and is an extraordinary mentor and role model for women in science.