World-class research opportunities keep grad student close to the Mississippi River
Noah Gallagher wants to help communities better adapt to climate change.
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (10/1/2025) — Noah Gallagher, a Ph.D. civil engineering student, studies extreme precipitation in the Upper Midwest at the University of Minnesota Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL) on the Mississippi River. Specifically, he pays attention to major weather events.
“I get to look at things from atmospheric science and hydrology, to statistics and data analysis,” said Gallagher. “My work is pretty interdisciplinary, and I get to look at the same problem through a lot of lenses.”
Gallagher earned his B.S. in Environmental Engineering in 2022 at the College of Science and Engineering. During those early years, he landed a role in SAFL as an undergraduate research assistant. He learned everything he could about the unique facility—and got up close to pioneering fluid mechanics, hydrology, and earth-surface dynamics work by globally respected researchers there.
Inspired, Gallagher decided to continue his learning. He is currently working on his dissertation, which focuses on big, once-in-a-lifetime storms and how they are changing over time. His research could help communities better adapt to climate change.
“Even if I can’t solve climate change, I can at least make sure that communities around me can have adequate storm water systems to deal with its effects,” said Gallagher, who has received several scholarships, including awards from the Minnesota Water Research Fund, CEGE Strategic Initiatives Fund, Nels Nelson Memorial Fellowship, and Richard P. Braun Transportation Scholarship.
Aside from the world-class research, Gallagher has found other things to like at the University of Minnesota. The SAFL Graduate Student Council, for example, is a home away from home on campus for him.
“We have mechanical engineers, civil engineers, and some electrical engineers that might not have the same sort of course overlap,” he said, “but the council does a good job of encouraging a more communal environment.”
Learn more about Noah's research at SAFL's state of the art facilities in the video below.
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Interview by Henry Stafford