Overview
I am currently undertaking a WISE CDT funded Ph.D. studentship at the Hydro-Environmental Research Centre at Cardiff University, focusing on fish responses to flow alterations in riverine systems. I am interested in the interaction between the aquatic environment and hydraulic in-stream structures such as small-scale riverine turbines and leaky barriers used for natural flood management. Using experimental techniques (e.g. flow visualisation, ADV, PIV, camera recording, motion tracking), I capture and visualise the hydrodynamics within the vicinity of these structures and link them to fish behaviour to analyse spatial preference and the impact on fish swimming kinematics.
In 2017, I graduated with an MSc in Sustainable Energy Systems and 2015 with a BSc in Environmental and Energy Process Engineering from the Otto-von-Guericke University in Magdeburg, Germany. Alongside my master’s degree, I worked as a Scientific Assistant at the Laboratory of Fluid Dynamics and Technical Flows where I investigated the numerical simulation of the multiphase flow in a fish-friendly weir. During this time, I developed my interest in fish-friendly technologies, small-scale hydropower plants, ecohydraulics, and fish-flow interaction.
Further information: WISE CDT profile: http://wisecdt.org.uk/wise_people/stephanie-muller/
Research
Research interests
My research interests are centred around the field of ecohydraulics, including for instance fish swimming behaviour and migration, fish-flow interaction, interplay between aquatic environment and in-stream hydraulic structures such as small-scale hydropower schemes and green infrastructures.
Thesis
Fish response to flow alterations in riverine systems
Funding source
EPSRC WISE CDT
