March 25, 2016

Iowa is bordered by two of North America’s largest rivers — the Missouri on the west, and the Mississippi on the east. But for many of us who live in Iowa, our experience of these rivers is no more than a glimpse of water through the car window as we speed over interstate bridges.

Nathan Young, who has been named the new director of the University of Iowa’s Lucille A. Carver Mississippi Riverside Environmental Research Station (LACMRERS), sees

the value in slowing down and experiencing our rivers in a personal, physical way. LACMRERS, which is set on the banks of the Mississippi near Muscatine, is part of IIHR—Hydroscience & Engineering. Young, who is also a research engineer at IIHR, hopes to encourage UI students, faculty, and staff to visit LACMRERS and take advantage of the station’s excellent research facilities and easy access to the Mississippi River.

“Large river systems play important ecological, economic, and cultural roles worldwide,” says Young. “LACMRERS is an ideal venue for UI academic programs to become engaged in large river research and education.”

As a graduate student in the University of Iowa’s civil and environment engineering program, Young did PhD research on freshwater mussel habitats in the Upper Mississippi River at LACMRERS. After earning a doctorate in 2006, Young moved on to a faculty position at Arkansas State University before returning to the University of Iowa in 2008. “I’m very pleased to see Nate returning to his ‘research roots’ in this way,” says IIHR Director Larry Weber. “Nate’s focus areas are part of a long tradition of large river research at IIHR, and a special fascination with freshwater mussels. His leadership will likely encourage new and exciting research ventures at LACMRERS in these areas.”

Young has also unveiled a new logo for LACMRERS, which he says graphically represents the Mississippi River’s key role in the hydrology of North America and the movement of water in relation to the land.

To learn more about LACMRERS, visit