Small substances, large impacts: Judy Yang's Environmental Research

Judy Yang bridges multiscale and interdisciplinary approaches to tackle complex environmental challenges

Small elements, even those we cannot see, have a very large impact on our environment.

Judy Yang, a professor in CEGE, is especially interested in the macroscopic impacts of microscopic elements. Her research has a compound focus on microscopic elements (microbes) and the macroscopic impacts they can have in our environment, including riverine and coastal erosion, harmful algal blooms, or even the spread of pathogens in teeth and tissues. Not many researchers tackle both micro- and macro- issues. Perhaps one reason for this is that to do so requires an integration of knowledge and methodologies across different fields.

As an affiliate of the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, Yang has access to a river flume up to 50 meters long for macro experiments. She is also trained as a microbiologist and conducts microfluidic experiments that allow her to visualize tiny microbes and particles much smaller than the diameter of a human hair. “My group is in a unique position to pioneer a new research direction,” explains Yang, “because we are one of the few groups in the world that have expertise in both microfluidics and larger flume experiments backed up with knowledge in both microbiology and fluid mechanics.”

Yang and her research group, The Environmental Transport Lab at the University of Minnesota, are interested in understanding the relationships between microbes and our landscapes and our health. They study how microbes, contaminants, and carbon move through sediment and soil, and then strive to apply this fundamental understanding to a wide range of environmental and health related issues, including erosion, contaminant transport, and bacterial infections.

Yang joined the faculty in CEGE in 2020, when so much of the world was locked down because of the pandemic. Her biggest revelation from that time was about very tiny things. Yang recalls, “2020 wasn’t an easy time to start a faculty career, yet I learned an important science lesson. The pandemic was a great illustration of how the movement of tiny substances, especially small biological entities, can make the world chaotic. This realization profoundly influenced my research approach, by highlighting the need to understand and manage the impact of both microscopic and macroscopic interactions in our natural environment.”

Navigating Multiscale and Interdisciplinary Challenges

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Judy Yang (second from left) and her research team. Her group includes graduate and undergraduate students Shih-Hsun Huang, Yuan Li, William Guanju Wei, Soukaina Benaich, and Imtisaal Naeem; and Postdoctoral Associates Willian Assis and Avery Agles.

Yang’s research stands out for its focus on bridging different disciplines and scales. Yang’s work integrates microbiology, chemistry, and physics. Yang and her team employ innovative techniques to investigate complex phenomena, and they have come up with interesting results. Their research could have a large impact on how scientists understand erosion and the soil we live on. At the macroscale, her flume experiments have revealed how vegetation-generated turbulence influences sediment dynamics and hyporheic exchange (the exchange between surface water and groundwater). At the mesoscale, Yang’s bacterial visualization system has uncovered new mechanisms for bacteria spreading in soil. At the microscale, her team has developed a 4D microfluidics-based imaging method that has shown how clay microaggregates can protect organic matter from microbial degradation.

Yang has secured multiple federal grants from prominent organizations, including the National Science Foundation, American Chemical Society, and the Office of Naval Research. Yang has also built valuable partnerships with researchers at Princeton University, the University of Arizona, and the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. These collaborations have enhanced the scope of her research and resulted in multiple publications, including one on biofilm growth with the School of Dentistry.

Mentoring and Teaching Excellence

Yang’s impact extends to her role as an educator and a mentor. Since joining CEGE just four years ago, she has guided four graduate students, three postdoctoral researchers, and eleven undergraduates through research in her lab. Her students and postdoctoral researchers have achieved recognition through various awards. And one of her postdoctoral researchers recently secured a faculty position. Yang also teaches essential courses like Fluid Mechanics and The Science and Engineering of Streams. Yang’s teaching integrates her research insights with fundamental theory, providing a dynamic learning experience that fosters development and prepares students for future challenges. In the classroom, Yang's dedication to educating the next generation of scientists and engineers is evident. Last year, she was recognized as the Best Undergraduate Instructor in the department. Yang’s outreach efforts are also noteworthy. Through initiatives like the Eureka! summer camp, she has inspired over one hundred female K-12 students. She also taught math at a correctional facility for women when she was a postdoctoral researcher, an experience that informs her ongoing commitment to support diverse students in STEM.

Judy Yang is a McKnight Land-Grant Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering and an Affiliated Faculty at the Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory at the University of Minnesota. She earned her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from MIT in 2018 and was a postdoctoral scholar in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University from 2018 to 2020. Her diverse expertise enriches her current role, where she focuses on integrating multiple scientific disciplines to address complex environmental issues.

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