Francis J. Magilligan

|Professor
Academic Appointments
  • The Frank J. Reagan '09 Chair of Policy Studies, Emeritus

  • Professor of Geography, Emeritus

  • Adjunct Professor of Earth Sciences, Emeritus

My teaching and research interests focus primarily on fluvial geomorphology and surface water hydrology. In particular, my research addresses stream channel and watershed response to environmental change – whether the change is generated by natural (e.g. climate change) or anthropogenic (e.g. agriculture, grazing, or logging) causes. For example, I have worked on the geomorphic impacts of catastrophic floods in the Upper Mississippi River as well as glacial outburst floods in Iceland. At a more local level, I have been analyzing the geomorphic impacts of Hurricane Irene that ravaged eastern Vermont in late summer 2011. Currently, I am focusing on the links between channel processes and riparian ecology, especially the role of flow regulation by dams on aquatic and floodplain ecology. This work was recently highlighted in a National Science Foundation online newsletter and PBS (see below video).  Besides this ongoing research focus on dams, I am also interested in the biophysical impacts of dam removal in conjunction with the social, political, and environmental dimensions that orbit around the decision to remove a dam.  I recently received a Guggenheim Award to further document and situate the science and politics related to river restoration writ large across the US.

Contact

646-1475
Steele, Room 009B
HB 6017

Department(s)

Geography

Education

  • B.A. Boston University
  • M.S. University of Wisconsin
  • Ph.D. University of Wisconsin

Selected Publications

  • Dethier, E.N., Fields, J.F., Renshaw, C.E., and Magilligan, F.J., 2025, Persistent hillslope erosion delays fluvial recovery from catastrophic flooding, Geological Society America Bulletin, https://doi.org/10.1130/B36139.1

  • Malakoff, E., Renshaw, C.E., and Magilligan, F.J., 2025, Gradients in stream power influence log jam locations, Geomorphology, doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2025.109962

  • Rossi, R., Renshaw, C.E., Magilligan, F.J., Fields, J.F., and Nislow, K.N., 2025, Impacts of channel reach morphology and seasonal flow history on the movement of coarse grains, Journal of Geophysical Research – Earth Surface, doi:10.1029/2024JF008045.

  • Erikson, C.M., Renshaw, C.E. and Magilligan, F.J., 2025. Finer grained sediment pulses decrease variability in entrainment thresholds of bed material. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 50(11), p.e70149, doi.org/10.1002/esp.70149.

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