IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering is an internationally renowned laboratory where researchers are solving some of our world's greatest fluids-related challenges. 

About IIHR
Middle Cedar Watershed wetland

Rivers, Watersheds, and the Landscape

IIHR researchers are addressing issues related to sustainability in the water, energy and food nexus; improving our understanding and adaptation to climate change; increasing community resilience to natural hazards; and helping equip society with the tools to make informed decisions.

Wave Basin

Fluid Mechanics and Structures

Fluid mechanics, the study of fluid behavior at rest and in motion, is at the core of nearly all IIHR research. IIHR uses the basic governing equations of fluid mechanics to investigate a wide range of applications—river flow, atmospheric conditions, renewable energy (e.g., wind and water turbines), ship hydrodynamics, biological systems, and much more. 

Keri Hornbuckle Research Lab

Health and the Environment

Much of IIHR’s research touches all our lives, affecting human health and well-being in meaningful ways. Studies of biofluids, environmental contaminants, vulnerability, and resilience are relevant to each of us. In addition, projects on renewable energy and watersheds help remediate society’s negative environmental impacts, leading to a higher quality more sustainable life.

Dan Gilles presenting

Information Systems

Beginning with the innovative Iowa Flood Information System (IFIS) in 2011, IIHR has made online public access to research data the standard for its major research initiatives. IIHR has developed online data access systems for water-quality information, flood mitigation projects, well-driller information, and more. These platforms provide emergency managers, decision-makers, and the public with reliable data.

Serving Iowans

From flood to drought, surface water to groundwater, IIHR is helping Iowans understand and manage water resource challenges to ensure a livable and sustainable future. 

Iowa Flood Center

Iowa Geological Survey

Iowa Nutrient Research Center

Center for Hydrologic Development

Job opportunities at IIHR

Recent News

Image of water

America's Big Agriculture Problem is Getting Worse

Monday, September 15, 2025
Bloomberg Originals
Nitrate from fertilizer and manure befouls countless waterways and kitchen taps across the US. But unlike other big polluters, from petroleum to plastics, Big Agriculture has largely avoided responsibility for its dirty footprint. In no state is this arguably clearer than Iowa, where the multibillion-dollar corn industrial complex of farmers, food processors, tractor makers, chemical companies, ethanol producers and their lobbyists reigns supreme.
A shot of the dubuque bee branch pump station from the side, with a blue liquid being shot into the tube to see flow

The UI is testing a $26M water pump to help mitigate flooding in Dubuque. What to know

Wednesday, September 10, 2025
Iowa City Press-Citizen
Dubuque is implementing a $26 million pump system to mitigate flooding in the Bee Branch Watershed. The University of Iowa is testing a 1:7.5 scale model of the pump system to ensure effectiveness. The project is part of a larger flood mitigation effort and is expected to be operational by August 2027.
Matthew Kliegl at the Legislative Breakfast presenting on his NICE project

Modeling Melvin Price Locks and Dam to Evaluate Fish Passage Alternatives 

Thursday, September 4, 2025
Matthew Kliegl felt a bit like a fish out of water when his master’s degree led him to study fish and their swimming behaviors. Kliegl embraced the opportunity to contribute to IIHR's legacy of fish passage research, helping to understand the movement of fish in the Mississippi River.  
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Events

Read Aloud at the Lagoon Shelter House: Tending Iowa's Land promotional image

Read Aloud at the Lagoon Shelter House: Tending Iowa's Land

Tuesday, September 23, 2025 10:00am to 2:00pm
Lagoon Shelter House
Iowa has stories to tell: hard lessons learned from soil loss, compromised water quality, and fragmented natural systems, but also proven solutions built on knowing and doing better that are ready to scale up.In Tending Iowa's Land, local researcher and writer Cornelia Mutel offers a collection of essays and personal stories from experts and everyday people that prove the challenges and explore the pathways to a regenerative future for our natural environment.Help give voice to these stories on...
Discover Your University: Iowa Geological Survey Tour promotional image

Discover Your University: Iowa Geological Survey Tour

Thursday, October 9, 2025 10:30am to 12:00pm
Iowa Geological Survey - Oakdale
The Iowa Geological Survey joined IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering and the University of Iowa in 2014. The IGS has more than 130 years of experience in helping to understand and effectively manage Iowa's natural resources for long-term sustainability and economic development and has advanced IIHR research initiatives to include surface to subsurface and flood and drought interactions and impacts on Iowans.Participants will tour the IGS's impressive rock library, containing over 1.6 million...
Waters of the United States: POTUS, SCOTUS, WOTUS, and the Politics of a National Resource with Royal C. Gardner promotional image

Waters of the United States: POTUS, SCOTUS, WOTUS, and the Politics of a National Resource with Royal C. Gardner

Friday, October 10, 2025 12:45pm to 2:00pm
Boyd Law Building
Join Royal C. Gardner, the Professor of Law, Hugh F. Culverhouse Chair, and Director of the Stetson Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy at Stetson Law, when he discusses his new book Waters of the United States: POTUS, SCOTUS, WOTUS, and the Politics of a National Resource, published by Island Press. In 2023, the Supreme Court made one of its most devastating rulings in environmental history in Sackett v. EPA. By narrowing the legal definition of ‘waters of the United States’ (WOTUS), the...
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