Bio
Jiyong Lee is an R&D Associate Staff scientist in Water Resource Science and Engineering group within the Environmental Science Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). His research focuses on understanding the physical mechanisms of hydrodynamics and hydrology in rivers and coastal regions, as well as quantifying the impacts of future environmental conditions on these processes in the coming decades. To address research questions, he employs physical laboratory experiments, analytical and numerical modeling, large-scale geospatial data from observations, global climate models, and remote sensing.
At ORNL, he leads projects funded by Water Power Technology Office (WPTO) of the Department Of Energy (DOE) on reservoir sedimentation. The main goal of these projects is to quantify the capacity loss of reservoirs due to sedimentation under present and future climate conditions across the contiguous United States (CONUS). This work leverages bathymetric survey, remote sensing data, and coupled hydrologic, reservoir sedimentation, and hydromorphodynamic models. He also contributes to a Department of Defense (DoD)-funded project assessing future flood risk under future climate scenarios using a Two-dimensional Runoff Inundation Toolkit for Operational Needs (TRITON), an open-source and GPU-accelerated flooding model. In addition, he is developing a framework for assessing marine energy resources in the United States.
Professional Experience
- R&D Associate Staff scientist | Oak Ridge National Lab | Aug 2024 – present
- Postdoctoral Research Associate | Utrecht University, the Netherlands | Sep 2022 – Aug 2024
Awards
- Early Career Spotlight (nominated award), AGU EPSP (2022)
- Roger E.A. Arndt Fellowship, Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory (2021)
- Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering Fellowship (2019)
Education
- Ph.D. in Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering, University of Minnesota, USA (2022)
- M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, South Korea (2018)
- B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, South Korea (2016)
Other Publications
[14] Lee, Jiyong, Bouke Biemond, Daan van Keulen, Ymkje Huismans, Rene van Westen, Huib de Swart, Henk A. Dijkstra, and Wouter Kranenburg. "Global increases of salt intrusion in estuaries under future environmental conditions." Nature Communications (2025), https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-58783-6.
[13] Tseng , Chien-Yung, Jiyong Lee, Michele Guala, and Mirko Musa. "Quantification of lateral bedload transport induced by a yawed submerged vane array in open-channel flows." Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (2024), https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/JHEND8.HYENG-14076.
[12] Lee, Jiyong, Bouke Biemond, Huib de Swart, and Henk A. Dijkstra. "Increasing risks of extreme salt intrusion events across European estuaries in a warming climate." Communications Earth and Environment (2024), https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01225-w.
[11] Henk A. Dijkstra, Biemond, Bouke, Jiyong Lee, and Huib de Swart. "Explaining the statistical properties of salt intrusion in estuaries using a stochastic dynamical modelling approach." Water Resources Research (2023): e2023WR034454, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR034454.
[10] Lee, Jiyong, Arvind Singh, and Michele Guala. "On the scaling and growth limit of fluvial dunes.", Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface (2023): e2022JF006955, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JF006955.
[9] Kang, Seokkoo, Jiyong Lee, Youngkyu Kim, and Ali Khosronejad. "Experimental and numerical study on the flow characteristics around spur dikes at different length-to-depth ratios." Advances in Water Resources (2023): 104428, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2023.104428.
[8] Lee, Jiyong, Jeff Marr, and Michele Guala. "On sediment mass flux directionality induced by yawed permeable vanes under near-critical mobility conditions." Journal of Hydraulic Engineering 148, no. 10 (2022): 04022019, https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HY.1943-7900.0002006.
[7] Lee, Jiyong, Arvind Singh, and Michele Guala. "Reconstructing sediment transport by migrating bedforms in the physical and spectral domains." Water Resources Research (2022): e2022WR031934, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR031934.
[6] Kang, Seokkoo, Youngkyu Kim, Jiyong Lee, Ali Khosronejad, and Xiaolei Yang. "Wake interactions of two horizontal axis tidal turbines in tandem." Ocean Engineering 254 (2022): 111331, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2022.111331.
[5] Gao, Jinjin, Han Liu, Jiyong Lee, Yuan Zheng, Michele Guala, and Lian Shen. "Large-eddy simulation and Co-Design strategy for a drag-type vertical axis hydrokinetic turbine in open channel flows." Renewable Energy (2022), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2021.09.119.
[4] Lee, Jiyong, Mirko Musa, and Michele Guala. "Scale‐dependent bedform migration and deformation in the physical and spectral domains." Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface 126, no. 5 (2021): e2020JF005811, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JF005811.
[3] Lee, Jiyong, Youngkyu Kim, Ali Khosronejad, and Seokkoo Kang. "Experimental study of the wake characteristics of an axial flow hydrokinetic turbine at different tip speed ratios." Ocean Engineering 196 (2020): 106777, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2019.106777.
[2] Lee, Jiyong, Mirko Musa, Chris Feist, Jinjin Gao, Lian Shen, and Michele Guala. "Wake characteristics and power performance of a drag-driven in-bank vertical axis hydrokinetic turbine." Energies 12, no. 19 (2019): 3611, https://doi.org/10.3390/en12193611.
[1] Jeon, Jeongsook, Jiyong Lee, and Seokkoo Kang. "Experimental investigation of three-dimensional flow structure and turbulent flow mechanisms around a nonsubmerged spur dike with a low length to depth ratio." Water Resources Research 54, no. 5 (2018): 3530-3556, https://doi.org/10.1029/2017WR021582.