Dr. Liao Receives UF Office of Research Award

Dr. Liao Receives UF Office of Research Award

Published: Wednesday, June 12, 2019
Congratulations to Dr. Jimmy Liao for recently receiving a UF Office of Research Award. Two out of only fifteen funded UF Office of Research awards were made to Whitney Laboratory faculty's research - both awards are collaborative with other colleges on campus!

Kármán gait ladders: an innovative fishway exploiting how fish recapture energy from vortices, two year award

Dr. James Liao will be collaborating with the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, Civil and Coastal Engineering Dept, and IFAS College of Life Sciences.

The proposal serves to solve ecological problem as well as an economical one by allowing fish to get to their spawning grounds through fish ladders circumventing hydroelectrical dams. The approach combines hydrodynamic modelling with actual experiments on fish swimming behind cylinders using vortices to aid in their forward motion. They will combine hydroelectricity power generation (dams) with fish conservation/aquatic resource protection to develop “pathways” for fish migration.  Overall, the proposal tackles an important environmental and fish/hydroelectricity management issue.