Welcome to our group @NUS CEE!
Jiarui “Gary” LEI is an MIT-trained Ph.D. with experience in environmental fluid mechanics. He has worked extensively in aquatic environments studying the interaction between water and various types of plants. Specifically, he focuses on understanding how hydrodynamics may affect the plants’ ability to curb coastal erosion. Dr. Lei also extends his research into seagrass/mangrove ecosystems, where he studies how carbon sequestration is connected to the local hydrodynamics.
Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore, 2021 – present
Visiting Lecturer, University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2020 – 2021
Postdoctoral Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2019 – 2021
Selected research projects
Wave attenuation over structures/vegetation
We study flow-structure-vegetation interaction under combined wave-current conditions through experiments and mathematical modeling.
Sediment deposition within coastal vegetation
We study the impact of hydrodynamics on sediment dynamics within coastal habitats. The flow-vegetation-sediment model will be applied to predict the sedimentation rate.
Seagrass's potential for coast protection
We developed physically-based models to predict how much wave energy dissipates over an artificial seagrass meadow. See details: https://news.mit.edu/2019/study-seagrass-erosion-0503.