TEACHING EXCELLENCE AWARD COLIN PHILLIPS

College of Engineering

Dr. Colin B. Phillips is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Utah State University with a joint appointment at the Utah Water Research Laboratory. Since joining USU in 2020, he has built a robust teaching and research program and established himself as an active researcher and trusted mentor to students.

Phillips earned a bachelor of arts from the University of California, Berkeley in 2009 and a Ph.D. from University of Pennsylvania in 2014. His research is generating new insight into how natural and urban landscapes respond to climate change and natural disasters. Specifically, he studies the intersections of rivers, landscapes, and climate and the conservation of natural resources. Recent research topics include geomorphology, sediment and contaminant transport, river hydraulics, flooding, and surface and shallow-subsurface hydrology. He has published 17 peer-reviewed manuscripts in top-tier journals including Science and has secured more than $600,000 in funding for USU and its research partners. Phillips teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses including fluid mechanics and open channel hydraulics and serves as an academic advisor to multiple graduate and undergraduate students.

Professor Phillips is an active member of the American Geophysical Union and has served in multiple community outreach programs. His most recent awards include fellowships from The Nature Conservancy and the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Phillips actively enjoys the outdoor opportunities here in Cache Valley with his hound Mason and spouse Carolyn. They recently welcomed their first child to their family and can’t wait to get back out into the mountains once she is old enough to lace up her boots.