Dr. Christopher Thornton, PhD, PE, currently hold an Associate Professor position in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering serves as the Director of the Engineering Research Center and Hydraulics Laboratory at Colorado State University.

Dr. Thornton is currently the PI on the United States Army Corps of Engineers Full Scale Wave Overtopping Simulation project. This project is intended to simulate waves hitting levees, crashing across the top and accelerating down the backside to see what effect they have on different types of grass and armoring systems. In addition, during the past six years, work conducted at the Hydraulics Laboratory has been instrumental in defining and developing standards for performance testing of engineered erosion control solutions. Partnerships formed with other research institutions have resulted in interdisciplinary collaborations that have defined frameworks describing the complex problem of soil erosion and stability.

Dr. Thornton provides technical expertise to University and local communities in areas of hydraulics, open-channel flow, bio-engineering, river mechanics and erosion control. He supervises hydraulic modeling in areas of river mechanics, dam safety, flow measurement, erosion and sedimentation, riprap design, bank revetment and stabilization, stream monitoring, environmental aspects of rivers, hydraulic structures, and tailings management. Dr. Thornton earned his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University. He is a member of ASCE, ASTM, AWRA, ECTC, EWRI and IECA.

Recent News:

December 2014, Dr. Thornton traveled to Hanoi Vietnam to meet with Vietnamese Government officials regarding levee protection Vietnam.
Recent News (cont):

November 2014, in Madrid Spain, Dr. Thornton presented at the 1st International Seminar on Dam Protection Against Accidental Leakage.
Student News:

Caroline Ubing completed her MS in Fall 2015.
Upcoming News:

In 2016, CSU will host the 2nd International Seminar on Dam Protection Against Accidental Leakage.