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Lauren McPhillips

Lauren McPhillips

Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, The Pennsylvania State University

lmcphillips@engr.psu.edu

Civil & Environmental Engineering
The Pennsylvania State University
226B Sackett Building
University Park, PA 16802

Titles

  • City Comparison Postdoctoral Fellow, Emeritus, Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network, Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation
  • Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, The Pennsylvania State University

Biography

Lauren McPhillips originally hails from the Hudson River Valley in New York State. She got her BS in Science of Earth Systems at Cornell University in Ithaca NY. From there Lauren headed to the Washington DC area where she worked for the US Geological Survey as part of a team studying ecohydrology in the Florida Everglades and a variety of stream systems.

Lauren then headed back to Cornell where she recently finished a PhD in environmental engineering and was part of Cornell’s Cross-Scale Biogeochemistry and Climate IGERT (Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship) Program. There Lauren’s interests migrated towards more human-influenced systems, and her dissertation work focused on assessing the biogeochemical function of green infrastructure for stormwater management. Lauren is excited to now be at Arizona State University as the City Comparisons Working Group (CCWG) Postdoc for the UREx SRN and to be part of this great interdisciplinary team.

External Links

Journal Articles

2023

McPhillips, L., M. Berbés-Blázquez, R. L. Hale, T. K. Harms, V. Bisht, L. Caughman, S. M. Clinton, E. Cook, X. Dong, J. W. Edmonds, S. E. Gergel, R. Gomez, K. G. Hopkins, D. M. Iwaniec, Y. Kim, A. L. Kuhn, L. Larson, D. B. Lewis, E. Martí, M. Palta, W. J. Roach and L. Ye. 2023. Learning from arid and urban aquatic ecosystems to inform more sustainable and resilient futures. Journal of Hydrology 616(Jan):128841. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128841. (link )

2022

Choat, B., A. Pulido, A. S. Bhaskar, R. L. Hale, H. X. Zhang, T. Meixner, L. McPhillips, K. G. Hopkins, J. Cherrier and C. Cheng. 2022. A Call to Record Stormwater Control Functions and to Share Network Data. Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment 8(2):. DOI: 10.1061/JSWBAY.0000971. (link )

McPhearson, P. T., E. M. Cook, M. Berbés-Blázquez, C. Cheng, N. B. Grimm, E. Andersson, O. Barbosa, D. G. Chandler, H. Chang, M. V. Chester, D. L. Childers, S. R. Elser, N. Frantzeskaki, Z. J. Grabowski, P. M. Groffman, R. L. Hale, D. M. Iwaniec, N. Kabisch, C. Kennedy, S. A. Markolf, M. Matsler, L. McPhillips, T. R. Miller, T. A. Munoz-Erickson, E. J. Rosi and T. G. Troxler. 2022. A social-ecological-technological systems framework for urban ecosystem services. One Earth 5(5):505-518. DOI: 10.1016/j.oneear.2022.04.007. (link )

2021

McPhillips, L., M. Matsler, B. Rosenzweig and Y. Kim. 2021. What is the role of green stormwater infrastructure in managing extreme precipitation events?. Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure 6(3-4):133-142. DOI: 10.1080/23789689.2020.1754625. (link )

2019

Baker, A., E. Brenneman, H. Chang, L. McPhillips and M. Matsler. 2019. Spatial analysis of landscape and sociodemographic factors associated with green stormwater infrastructure distribution in Baltimore, Maryland and Portland, Oregon. Science of The Total Environment 664:461-473. DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2019.01.417. (link )

Kelleher, C. and L. McPhillips. 2019. Exploring the application of topographic indices in urban areas as indicators of pluvial flooding locations. Hydrological Processes 34(3):780-794. DOI: 10.1002/hyp.13628. (link )

McPhillips, L., S. R. Earl, R. L. Hale and N. B. Grimm. 2019. Urbanization in arid central Arizona watersheds results in decreased stream flashiness. Water Resources Research 55(11):9436-9453. DOI: 10.1029/2019WR025835. (link )

Rosenzweig, B., B. L. Ruddell, L. McPhillips, R. J. Hobbins, P. T. McPhearson, Z. Cheng, H. Chang and Y. Kim. 2019. Developing knowledge systems for urban resilience to cloudburst rain events. Environmental Science & Policy 99(Sep):150-159. DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2019.05.020. (link )

2018

McPhillips, L., H. Chang, M. V. Chester, Y. Depietri, E. Friedman, N. B. Grimm, J. S. Kominoski, P. T. McPhearson, P. Mendez-Lazaro, E. J. Rosi and J. Shafiei Shiva. 2018. Defining extreme events: A cross-disciplinary review. Earth's Future 6(3):441-455. DOI: 10.1002/2017EF000686. (link )

McPhillips, L., C. L. Goodale and M. T. Walter. 2018. Nutrient leaching and greenhouse gas emissions in grassed detention and bioretention stormwater basins. Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment 4(1):. DOI: 10.1061/JSWBAY.0000837. (link )

McPhillips, L. and M. Matsler. 2018. Temporal evolution of green stormwater infrastructure strategies in three US cities. Frontiers in Built Environment 4:26. DOI: 10.3389/fbuil.2018.00026. (link )

Rosenzweig, B., L. McPhillips, H. Chang, C. Cheng, C. Welty, M. Matsler, D. M. Iwaniec and C. I. Davidson. 2018. Pluvial flood risk and opportunities for resilience. WIREs 5(6):e1302. DOI: 10.1002/wat2.1302. (link )

2017

Grabowski, Z. J., M. Matsler, C. Thiel, L. McPhillips, R. Hum, A. Bradshaw, T. R. Miller and C. L. Redman. 2017. Infrastructures as socio-eco-technical systems: Five considerations for interdisciplinary dialogue. Journal of Infrastructure Systems 23(4):02517002. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)IS.1943-555X.0000383. (link )

Morse, N. R., L. McPhillips, J. P. Shapleigh and M. T. Walter. 2017. The role of denitrification in stormwater detention basin treatment of nitrogen. Environmental Science & Technology 51(14):7928–7935. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b01813. (link )

Posters

2019

Rosenzweig, B., C. Welty, J. R. Sauer, L. E. McPhillips, C. Kelleher and P. T. McPhearson. 2019. Case studies of cloudbursts and ultra-urban floods: A socio-eco-technical assessment of pluvial flooding events in Baltimore and New York City. Poster presented at the AGU Fall Meeting, December 9-13, 2019, San Franciscon, CA. (link )

2018

Grimm, N. B., L. McPhillips, R. L. Hale and S. R. Earl. 2018. Urban desert streams do not conform to the urban stream syndrome. Poster presented at the 20th Annual CAP LTER All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, January 5, 3018, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ.

McPhillips, L., S. M. Newell and N. B. Grimm. 2018. Stormwater infiltration patterns in vacant lots in the Phoenix metro area. Poster presented at the 20th Annual CAP LTER All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, January 5, 2018, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )

2017

McPhillips, L. and N. B. Grimm. 2017. Cross-city comparison of green space distribution and characteristics. Poster presented at the 19th Annual Central-Arizona Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, 13 January 2017, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )

McPhillips, L. and N. B. Grimm. 2017. Cross-city comparison of land cover and green infrastructure. Poster presented at the 2nd Annual UREx SRN All Hands Meeting, New York, NY.

McPhillips, L., N. B. Grimm, E. Rosi-Marshall, J. S. Kominoski, Y. Depietri, E. Friedman and P. Mendez-Lazaro. 2017. Defining extreme events: Highlights from ongoing task force research. Poster presented at the 2nd Annual UREx SRN All Hands Meeting, New York, NY.

Presentations

2019

Earl, S. R., K. L. Kemmitt, L. McPhillips, R. L. Hale and N. B. Grimm. 2019. Patterns of stormwater runoff and biogeochemistry in a highly urbanized catchment of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Presentation at the ESAUSSE 2019, August 11-16, 2019, Louisville, KY. (link )

Grimm, N. B., S. Earl, R. L. Hale, H. E. Hartnett, K. Kemmitt, L. McPhillips and M. Palta. 2019. Ecohydrological and biogeochemical dynamics of urban stormwater in arid central Arizona. Presentation at the AGU Fall Meeting, December 9-13, 2019, San Francisco, CA. (link )

Matsler, M., L. McPhillips, B. Rosenzweig, P. M. Groffman, S. R. Elser, N. B. Grimm, H. Chang and R. Zimmerman. 2019. Green infrastructure implementation and performance: Lessons learned from nine US and Latin American cities in the Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network (UREx SRN). Presentation at the AGU Fall Meeting, December 9-13, 2019, San Francisco, CA. (link )

McPhillips, L., P. J. Coseo, M. Berbés-Blázquez and N. B. Grimm. 2019. Urban resilience through transdisiciplinary partnerships and socio-eco-technical solutions. Presentation at the ESAUSSE 2019, August 11-16, 2019, Louisville, KY. (link )

2018

Brenneman, E., A. Baker, H. Chang and L. McPhillips. 2018. Biophysical and sociodemographic indicators of green infrastructure distribution within Baltimore, Phoenix, and Portland. Presentation at the 3rd Annual UREx SRN All Hands Meeting, March 19-21, 2018, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.

Brenneman, E., B. Fahy, A. Baker, H. Chang, L. McPhillips and J. Voelkel. 2018. Comparing flooding potential to socioeconomic and biophysical characteristics in Portland, OR, Baltimore, MD, and Phoenix, AZ. Presentation at the 3rd Annual UREx SRN All Hands Meeting, Phoenix, AZ.

2017

Cheng, C., N. Grimm, L. McPhillips, J. Lee and M. Palta. 2017. Green infrastructure, urban resilience and sustainability. Presentation at the Resilience 2017: Resilience Frontiers for Global Sustainability, August 20-23, 2017, Stockholm, Sweden. (link )

Grimm, N. B., M. Berbes Blazquez, C. Cheng, E. M. Cook, P. T. McPhearson and L. McPhillips. 2017. Assessing urban aquatic services in the face of climate-driven extreme events. Presentation at the Portland ESA 2017, August 6-11, 2017, Portland, OR. (link )

Grimm, N., M. V. Chester, Y. Kim, L. McPhillips and C. Redman. 2017. When is safe-to-fail safe?. Presentation at the Resilience 2017: Resilience Frontiers for Global Sustainability, August 20-23, 2017, Stockholm, Sweden. (link )

Kelleher, C. and L. McPhillips. 2017. Urban nuisance flooding and topographic wetness index: does excess runoff collect where we think it should in urban landscapes?. Presentation at the AGU Fall Meeting 2017, December 11-15, 2017, New Orleans, LA. (link )

McPhillips, L. 2017. Cross-city evaluation of intentional and accidental stormwater management strategies. Presentation at the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems Annual Symposium, Syracuse, NY.

McPhillips, L., C. Cheng, P. T. McPhearson and N. B. Grimm. 2017. Cross-city spatial comparison of green infrastructure distribution in the US and Latin America. Presentation at the II Conference of the Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society: Place-based Transdisciplinary Research for Global Sustainability, November 7-10, 2017, Oaxaca City, Mexico. (link )

McPhillips, L. E., N. B. Grimm and T. McPhearson. 2017. Cross-city comparison of vacant lot form and function: Do they contribute to resilience or vulnerability?. Presentation at the Annual Meeting Portland ESA 2017, August 6-11, 2017, Portland, OR. (link )

2016

McPhillips, L. 2016. Hydrology and biogeochemistry in human-impacted systems. Presentation at the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA.

McPhillips, L. 2016. Multifunctional green infrastructure for managing stormwater in urban landscapes. Presentation at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA.

McPhillips, L. 2016. Nutrient cycling hotspots in suburban mesic watersheds: Stormwater detention basins, grassed road ditches and lawns. Presentation at the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.