Research – Stormwater Living Lab

Funded Projects

Publications

Presentations

Funded Projects

($1,739,803 in total funding as of Mar. 2024, with $30,000 pending)

Awarded

Kirchhoff, C., Wu, H., Yencha, A., Fetter, J., McPhillips, L., Grant, “A comprehensive assessment of the barriers and drivers of GSI adoption centered on ordinances in small and small to medium-sized municipalities in Pennsylvania,” Pennsylvania Sea Grant College Program. Total awarded: $160,127 (Funded 2024-2025).
Cibin, R., An, R., Fetter, J., McPhillips, L., Wu, H., “Citizen science-driven data collection of Pennsylvania urban stormwater best management practices augmented by machine learning,” Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment. Total awarded: $30,000 (funded 2023-2024).
Brent. D., McPhillips L., Lassiter, A., Yencha, A. “Vulnerabilities to salinity risks from climate change and development in the Delaware River Basin,” Pennsylvania SeaGrant College Program, Total awarded: $124,934 (funded Nov. 2022 – Jan 2024).
Kukal, M., Irmak, S., Davis, K. J., McPhillips, L., Clark, S. E., Wu, H. “Urban green infrastructure and the day-night “humid-heat islands” of the Northeast U.S.,” Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment. Total awarded: $30,000 (funded 2022-2023).
McPhillips, L., Brent, D., A., Clark, S. E., Gotsch, S., Hoffman, M., Wu, H. “Ecosystem services assessment for green stormwater infrastructure in Lancaster, PA,” Pennsylvania SeaGrant College Program, Total awarded: $119,394 (funded Sept. 2021 – Dec. 2023).
McPhillips, L. and Raj, C. “Effects of solar farms on landscape hydrology,” Pennsylvania Water Resources Research Center/USGS 104b grant. Total awarded: $30,000 (funded Sept. 2021- Sept. 2022).
McPhillips, L., Clark S. E., Hoffman, M., Wu, H., & Gotsch (Franklin and Marshall College), “Impacts of salt loading on nutrient and metal processing in stormwater bioretention,” Chesapeake Bay Trust, Total awarded: $196,183 (funded July 2021 – August 2023).
Hoffman, M., McPhillips, L., Wu, H., Skvarla, M., “Green Stormwater Infrastructure: Design, Maintenance and Location Impacts on Biodiversity,” Mainstreaming Biodiversity in a Decade of Action Seed Grant, Sustainability Institute, Penn State. Total awarded: $9,910. (funded: June 2021 – June 2022).
Clark, S. E., Mysliwiec, T. H., Felker, J. M., Blaszczak-Boxe, C., McPhillips, L., Wu, H., Driscoll, W. W., Moazeni, F., Spear, J. M., “Water quality assessment of an urban watershed in Lancaster, PA: implications for environmental justice,” Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment, Penn State. Total awarded: $30,000. (funded: June 2021 – June 2022).
Wu, H., Flohr, T. L., Yencha, A., Adib, M., “A Web App for Enhancing Knowledge Transfer and Science Communication in Community Engagement during Pandemic Time and Beyond,” Hamer Center for Community Design, Penn State. Total awarded: $10,000. (funded: March 2021 – June 2022).
Wu, H., McPhillips, L., Mina, O., Brent, D., Clark, S. E., Cole, C. A., Gutberlet, A. D., Richard, T. L., Hoskins, M., Fetter, J., Hoag, D. A.S., “Greening Our Stormwater: Using Campuses as Living Labs for Green Stormwater Infrastructure,” Penn State University Strategic Initiatives, Penn State. Total awarded: $249,883. (funded: July 2019 – June 2022).
Wu, H., Mina, O., McPhillips, L., Brent, D., Cole, C. A., “Improving Green Stormwater Infrastructure Performance and Cost-effectiveness on Penn State’s University Park Campus,” Penn State Office of Physical Plant, Penn State. Total awarded: $33,665. (funded: February 2019 – February 2020).
McPhillips, L., Brent, D., Kumar Chaudhary, A., Clark, S. E., Duncan, J. M., Cibin, R., Wu, H., Royer, M., “Identifying sweet spots for green stormwater infrastructure interventions in Pennsylvania urban communities,” Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment, Penn State. Total awarded: $50,000. (funded: July 2019 – June 2020).
Wu, H., Mina, O., Grant, “Multi-variate Evaluation of Green Stormwater Infrastructure on Penn State University Campus,” E+D: Ecology Plus Design, Penn State. Total awarded: $14,000. (funded: July 2018 – June 2020).

Other projects with significant Stormwater Living Lab involvement

Zaitchik, B., Hunter, J., Welty, C., Davis, K., Ricciuto, D., Ling, J., McComas M., …, Wu, H., McPhillips, L., Clark, S. E., “The Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative IFL,” U.S. Department of Energy, Federal Agencies. 2022-2027. Total awarded to Penn State: $6,371,823.

Submitted

Warner, N. R., Blaszczak-Boxe, C., Wu, H., McPhillips, L., Wang, M., Clark, S. E., Padt, F. J. G., Mysliwiec, T. H., Kahl, A. F., Cutler, S. L. “REU SITE: Contaminants and Community: Addressing Legacy and Emerging Water Quality Concerns through Culturally-Responsive Practices,” National Science Foundation. Total requested: $389,998. (Submitted: Sep. 6, 2022).
Sohn, W., Wang, R., Wu, H. “From bottom to top: A socio-ecologically balanced decision support system for prioritizing green stormwater infrastructure in underserved communities,” The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Nonprofit Foundations. Total requested: $75,000. (Submitted: April 21, 2022).

Research/Scholarly Publications (* student)

Under Review

Hendricks, L.*, Hoffman, M., Wang, R., & Wu, H. Bioretention Planting for Pollutant Removal. Landscape Research Record 12. [Submitted January 14, 2023].
Yavari, R.*, Wu, H., Grady, C., Brent, D., Clark, S., Raj, C., Duncan, J., Chaudhary, A. K. McPhillips, L. Identifying sweet spots for green stormwater infrastructure implementation: a case study in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment. [Submitted: January 9, 2023].
Rummler, L., Voogt, W., Kuggas, U., & Wu, H. Green Stormwater Infrastructure Design for the Future: Lessons from Northern Europe. Landscape Architecture (Chinese).
Wang, R.*, Wu, H., Chiles, R. M., & Yang, Y. Urban regeneration for sustainable neighborhoods: An evaluation of China’s “old urban neighborhood renewal” experiment. Cities. (Submitted: July 26, 2022).

Forthcoming

McPhillips, L., Wu, H., Rojas, C., Rosenzweig, B., Sauer, J., & Winfrey, B. Nature-Based Solutions as Critical Urban Infrastructure for Water Resilience. In McPhearson T., Frantzeskaki N., & Kabisch N. (Eds.), A Modern Guide to Nature-based Solutions for Cities. Northampton, MA, USA: Edgar Elgar Publishing. Peer-reviewed/refereed.

Published

Tebyanian, N.*, Fischbach, J., Lempert, R., Knopman, D., Wu, H., Iulo, L. D., & Keller, K. (2023). Rhodium-SWMM: An Open-Source Tool for Green Infrastructure Placement Under Deep Uncertainty. Environmental Modeling and Software.
Adib, M.*, Wu, H., & Flohr, T. L. (2023). Assessing participatory practices in green stormwater infrastructure development. PLOS Water, 2(3), e0000084. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000084
Wang, R.*, Brent, D., & Wu, H. (2022). Willingness to Pay for Ecosystem Benefits of Green Stormwater Infrastructure in Chinese Sponge Cities. Journal of Cleaner Production, 371, 133462. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.133462
Wu, H. “Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.” (2022). In Newman, G., & Qiao, Z. (Eds.), Landscape Architecture for Mitigating Sea Level Rise: Innovative Global Solutions, 80–89. New York: Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9781003183419-11
Tebyanian, N.*, Wu, H., Iulo, L. D., & Keller, K. (2022). Uncertainty Considerations in Green Infrastructure Optimization: A Review. Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture (JoDLA), 2022(7), 549-560. (2022 JoDLA Scientific Excellence Award)
Gong, C., Wu, H., & Hu, C. (2022). Integration of Gray-Green Stormwater Infrastructure Planning and Urban Design — Lessons from the “Green First Plan” of the Mountainous City of Pittsburgh, USA. Chinese Landscape Architecture. [in press].
Myerov, S. & Wu, H. (2022). The COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on Pennsylvania’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Communities – Preliminary Survey Findings. Pennsylvania Environmental Council and Penn State Stormwater Living Lab.
Wang, R.*, Wu, H., & Chiles, R. M. (2022). Ecosystem benefits provision of green stormwater infrastructure in Chinese sponge cities. Environmental Management. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-021-01565-9.
Choat, B., Pulido, A., Bhaskar, A. S., Hale, R. L., Zhang, H. X., Meixner, T., McPhillips, L., Hopkins, K., Cherrier, J., & Cheng, C. (2022). A Call to Record Stormwater Control Functions and to Share Network Data. Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment, 8(2), 02521005. https://doi.org/10.1061/JSWBAY.0000971
Wu, M.*, Wu, H., Warner, A. T., Li, H., & Liu, Z. (2021). Informing Environmental Flow Planning through Landscape Evolution Modeling in Heavily Modified Urban Rivers in China. Water, 13(22), 3244. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13223244
Adib, M.*, & Wu, H. (2020). Fostering Community-engaged Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) through the Use of Participatory Geographic Information System (PGIS). Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture(5), 549-557. © Wichmann Verlag, VDE VERLAG GMBH · Berlin · Offenbach. ISBN 978-3-87907-690-1, ISSN 2367-4253, doi:10.14627/537690056.

Presentations, Seminars, and Workshops

Pre2022

Tebyanian, N., Fischbach, J., Lempert, R., Knopman, D., Wu, H., Iulo, L. D., & Keller, K. (2022). “Rhodium-SWMM: An Open-Source Tool for Green Infrastructure Placement Under Deep Uncertainty,” 2022 Annual Meeting of the Society for Decision Making under Deep Uncertainty: Transformative Recovery and Forging Anew. (Accepted)
McPhillips, L., Wu, H., Rojas, C., Rosenzweig, B., Sauer, J., & Winfrey, B. (August 14-19, 2022). “Nature-Based Solutions as Critical Urban Infrastructure for Water Resilience,” Ecological Society of America 2022 Annual Meeting, Montréal, Québec, Canada, peer-reviewed/refereed. International.
Tebyanian, N., Wu, H., Iulo, L. D., & Keller, K. (June 2022). “Uncertainty Considerations in Green Infrastructure Optimization: A Review,” The 23rd Annual International Digital Landscape Architecture Conference. International.
Wu, H., McPhillips, L., Clark, S. E., Park-Martinez, J., & Hoskins, M. (May 19, 2022) “A Multi-Discipline Living Lab Approach to Stormwater Adaptation,” Penn State Sustainability Institute 2022 Commonwealth Campuses Forum – Town-Gown Collaborations for a Resilient Pennsylvania. Harrisburg, PA.
Wu, H., Modricker, D., Cotrone, V., Koch, K., & Yencha, A. (May 17, 2022) “Green Infrastructure Workshop,” National Extension Energy Summit and Nation Sustainability Summit, peer-reviewed/refereed. National.
Wu H. (May 21, 2022). “A Multi-Disciplinary Living Lab Approach to Green Infrastructure Research, Education, and Outreach.” 2022 International Forum on Landscape Hydrology Education and Practice. Tsinghua University. Virtual. Invited.
Hoffman, M. & Mattlin, J.*(May 15-18, 2022). “Effect of plant species, drought and saturated zones on nitrate removal in green stormwater infrastructure,” National Extension Energy Summit and Nation Sustainability Summit, peer-reviewed/refereed. National.
Wang, R.*, & Wu, H. (May 15-18, 2022). “Willingness to Engage in Urban Stormwater Management: A Structural Equation Modelling Analysis,” National Extension Energy Summit and Nation Sustainability Summit, peer-reviewed/refereed. National.
Wu, H., Fischer, C.*, Clark, S. E., & McPhillips, L. (May 15-18, 2022). “Salinity Transport in an Urban Bioretention Basin From De-Icing Salt Applications,” National Extension Energy Summit and Nation Sustainability Summit, peer-reviewed/refereed. National.
Brent, D. & Wrenn, D. (May 15-18, 2022). “Peer Effects in Residential Green Infrastructure Adoption,” National Extension Energy Summit and Nation Sustainability Summit, peer-reviewed/refereed. National.

2021

Fischer, C., Clark, S. E., McPhillips, L., Wu, H., & Ryan, S. (December 9, 2021). “Impact of Precipitation on De-Icing Salt Transport in a Bioretention Basin,” Harrisburg Area Geological Society meeting – A Round-Robin of Local University Student Research Projects, Harrisburg Area Geological Society, Virtual. Regional.
Clark, S. E., Fischer, C.*, McPhillips, L., Wu, H. (November 10, 2021). “Salinity Transport in a Bioretention Basin Due to Winter Storm De-Icing Salt Applications“, 2021 Virtual Annual Water Resources Conference, Virtual, Accepted, peer-reviewed/refereed. National.
Wu, H., & Myerov, S. (July 21, 2021). “COVID-19 Impacts on Pennsylvania MS4 Communities,” Penn State Extension July Water Cooler Talk, 45 in attendance, Virtual, Invited. Regional.
Tebyanian, N.*, Wu, H., & Iulo, L. D. (June 2021). “Green Infrastructure Placement Under Deep Uncertainty,” The 17th International Conference on Computational Urban Planning and Urban Management (CUPUM), peer-reviewed/refereed. International.
Adhikari, B.*, & McPhillips, L. (June 11, 2021). “Hydrologic performance of lined green stormwater infrastructure basin,” World Environmental and Water Resources Congress, American Society of Civil Engineers Environmental and Water Resources Institute (ASCE EWRI), Virtual.
McPhillips, L. (June 9, 2021). “Green Infrastructure and Extreme Events,” Pennsylvania MS4 Forum, northeastern region, US EPA/PA DEP, Virtual.
McPhillips, L. (May 6, 2021). “Green Infrastructure and Extreme Events,” Pennsylvania MS4 Forum, central region, US EPA/PA DEP, Virtual.
Yavari, R.*, McPhillips, L., Brent, D., Wu, H., Grady, C. (June 7 2021). “Decision making framework for detecting sweetspots for green infrastructure implementation in the urban areas,” World Environmental & Water Resources Congress.
Adhikari, B.* & McPhillips, L.E. (April 14, 2021). Assessment of basic hydrology in a lined bioretention basin. College of Engineering Research Symposium, Pennsylvania State University.
McPhillips, L. (March 10, 2021). “Implementation and function of green stormwater infrastructure: insight from the site to the city,” Department Seminar, University of Colorado- Boulder- Environmental and Water Resources, Virtual, Invited.
Wang, R.*, & Wu, H. (March 17-20, 2021). “A Survey of Residents’ Perception of Ecosystem Benefits of Green Stormwater Infrastructure in Chinese Sponge Cities,” Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture 2021 Annual Conference, Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, Virtual, peer-reviewed/refereed. International.
Tebyanian, N.*, Wu, H., & Iulo, L. D. (March 17-20, 2021). “Application of Many Objective Robust Decision Making (MORDM) Method for Green Infrastructure Planning,” Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture 2021 Annual Conference, Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, Virtual, peer-reviewed/refereed. International.
Adib, M.*, Wu, H., & Flohr, T. L. (March 17-20, 2021). “Evaluating community engagement mechanisms for green stormwater infrastructure development,” Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture 2021 Annual Conference, Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, Virtual, peer-reviewed/refereed. International.

2020

McPhillips, L. (October 9, 2020). “Implementation and function of green stormwater infrastructure: insight from the site to the city,” Department Seminar, Temple University- Earth and Environmental Science, Virtual, Invited.
McPhillips, L. (October 2, 2020). “Implementation and function of green stormwater infrastructure: insight from the site to the city,” Department Seminar, University of Massachusetts- Amherst Civil &Environmental Engineering, Virtual, Invited.
McPhillips, L. (September 25, 2020). “Implementation and function of green stormwater infrastructure: insight from the site to the city,” Department Seminar, Florida State University Civil & EnvironmentalEngineering, Virtual, Invited.
Adhikari, B.*, Zaengle, J.*, & McPhillips, L. (July 19-22, 2020). “Performance of urban green stormwater infrastructures in central Pennsylvania in stormwater metals accumulation,” Low Impact Development Conference, American Society of Civil Engineers- Environmental and Water Resources Institute, peer-reviewed/refereed. International.
Adhikari, B.*, Zaengle, J.* & McPhillips, L. (July 26-29, 2020). “Monitoring performance of green stormwater infrastructures in accumulating environmentally available metals transported by stormwater.” Northeast Agricultural and Biological Engineering Conference (NABEC), Spring meeting, Penn State University.
Roy, S.*, McPhillips, L. & Wu, H. (July 28, 2020). “Framework for Assessing Climate Change Implications of Green Stormwater Infrastructure,” Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Poster Symposium, Penn State Drawdown, State College, PA, Virtual, Invited. National.
Adib, M.*, & Wu, H. (June 2020). “Fostering Community-engaged Green Stormwater Infrastructure through the Use of Web-based Participatory Technologies,” The 21st annual International Digital Landscape Architecture Conference, Cambridge Mass, USA, Virtual, peer-reviewed/refereed. International.

2019

Wu, H., & Hall, J.* (August 7, 2019). “Maintenance-friendly Planting Design for Green Stormwater Infrastructure,” Operation and Maintenance of Stormwater Control Measures, Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI) of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Minneapolis, MN, 300 in attendance, peer-reviewed/refereed. International.
Wu, H., & Hall, J.* (March 9, 2019). “Exploring Maintenance-friendly Planting Design for Green Stormwater Infrastructure,” Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture 2019 Annual Conference, Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, Sacramento, CA, 300 in attendance, peer-reviewed/refereed. International.

Oral Presentations (accepted but canceled due to COVID)

Wang, R.*, & Wu, H. “Exploring the Public Perception of Green Stormwater Infrastructure in Chinese Sponge Cities,” Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture 2020 Annual Conference, peer-reviewed/refereed. International.
Weikel, M.*, & Wu, H. “Framework for Assessing Climate Change Implications of Green Stormwater Infrastructure,” Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture 2020 Annual Conference, peer-reviewed/refereed. International.
Adhikari, B.*; J. Zaengle*; L. McPhillips. “Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Stormwater Metals Accumulation in Green Stormwater Infrastructure”, the Penn State College of Engineering Research Symposium 2020. University.

Poster Presentations

2022

Adhikari, B.*, & McPhillips, L. (May 15-18, 2022). “Role of urban green stormwater infrastructures in accumulation of metals conveyed by stormwater.” National Extension Energy Summit and Nation Sustainability Summit, peer-reviewed/refereed. National.
Adib, M.*, Wu, H., & Flohr, T. L. (May 15-18, 2022). “Evaluating Community Engagement Mechanisms for Green Stormwater Infrastructure Development,” National Extension Energy Summit and Nation Sustainability Summit, peer-reviewed/refereed. National.

2021

Tebyanian, N.*, Iulo, L. D., & Wu, H. (September 2021). “A Method for Green Infrastructure Placement under Deep Uncertainty,” Penn State Stuckeman School Reseach Symposium & Open House, Penn State Stuckeman School, University Park, PA, Invited. Universities.
Hendricks, L.*, & Wu, H. (September 2021). “Bioretention Landscape Design for Pollutant Removal,” Penn State Stuckeman School Reseach Symposium & Open House, Penn State Stuckeman School, University Park, PA, Invited. Universities.
Adib, M.*, Wu, H., Flohr, T. L., & Kelsey, T. W. (September 2021). “Evaluating Community Engagement Mechanisms for Green Stormwater Infrastructure Development,” Penn State Stuckeman School Reseach Symposium & Open House, Penn State Stuckeman School, University Park, PA, Invited. Universities.
Wu, H. (September 2021). “Penn State Stormwater Living Lab: A Multi-disciplinary Initiative to Shape Penn State into a National Green Stormwater Infrastructure Leader,” Penn State Stuckeman School Reseach Symposium & Open House, Penn State Stuckeman School, University Park, PA, Invited. Universities.
Wang, R.*, & Wu, H. (September 2021). “Public Perception of Ecosystem Benefits of Green Stormwater Infrastructure: A Case Study in Chinese Sponge Cities,” Penn State Stuckeman School Reseach Symposium & Open House, Penn State Stuckeman School, University Park, PA, Invited. Universities.
Hendricks, L.*, & Wu, H. (March 2021). “Investigating the Barriers to Effective Implementation of Phytoremediating Plants in Bioretention Systems,” Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture 2021 Annual Conference, Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, Virtual, peer-reviewed/refereed. International.
Roy, S.*, McPhillips, L., & Wu, H. (March 2021). “Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Urban Green Infrastructure,” Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture 2021 Annual Conference, Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, Virtual, peer-reviewed/refereed. International.

2019-2020

Roy, S.*, McPhillips, L. & Wu, H. (July 28, 2020). “Carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions in urban green infrastructure: A case study of Penn State’s University Park,” Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Poster Symposium, Penn State Drawdown, State College, PA, Virtual, Invited. National.
Weikel, M.*, & Wu, H. (September 16, 2019). “Framework for Assessing Climate Change Implications of Green Stormwater Infrastructure,” Research to Action: The Science of Drawdown, Project Drawdown & Penn State University, State College, PA, 500 in attendance, Invited. International.
Weikel, M.*, & Wu, H. (July 31, 2019). “Framework for Assessing Climate Change Implications of Green Stormwater Infrastructure,” Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Poster Symposium, Penn State Drawdown, State College, PA, 100 in attendance, Invited. National.

Posters (accepted but unable to be presented because of COVID-19)

Yang, J.*, & Wu, H. “Stormwater Design Toolbox for Managing Interchange Runoff in Beijing, China,” Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture 2020 Annual Conference, peer-reviewed/refereed. International.