The Troy Lab at Purdue University investigates hydrodynamic processes and related engineering and biological applications in coastal waters. Think: Oceanography and Coastal Engineering in the Midwest… Our work focuses on improving our understanding of how substances are transported in lakes and oceans, how shorelines evolve in response to different hydrodynamic conditions, and how coasts can be engineered to be more resilient. We have a primarily observational approach, carrying out experiments in Purdue’s Burke Laboratory facilities as well as in our “natural laboratory,” Lake Michigan.


Cary D. Troy, PhD
Associate Professor of Civil Engineering
Lyles School of Civil Engineering
Purdue University
Dr. Cary Troy runs the Troy Lab at Purdue University. His research focuses on coastal hydrodynamic processes with engineering and ecological applications. Dr. Troy did his Ph.D. research at Stanford University in the Environmental Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, studying breaking internal waves with a novel set of laboratory experiments. At Purdue University, he has maintained a geographic focus on the Laurentian Great Lakes and examined a wide range of physical processes, ranging from deep-water turbulence and mixing to shoreline erosion. Dr. Troy has also conducted pedagogical research, and teaches courses in the areas of hydraulics and hydrology, environmental fluid mechanics, coastal engineering, and basic water science.
Modeling Lake Michigan Shoreline Changes in Response to Rapid Water Level Fluctuations
Abdelhady, H., and C.D. Troy Proceedings of The Coastal Sediments Conference 2023
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U.S. community perspectives on coastal flooding
Elko, N., Briggs, T. R., Marsooli, R., Barrineau, P., Hapke, C., McKenna, K., ... & Troy, C. Shore and Beach
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A reduced-complexity shoreline model for coastal areas with large water level fluctuations
Abdelhady, H., and C.D. Troy Coastal Engineering
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A simple, fully-automated shoreline detection algorithm for high-resolution, multi-spectral imagery
Abdelhady, H., C.D. Troy, A. Habib, and R. Manish Remote Sensing
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Rapid Lake Michigan shoreline changes revealed by UAV LiDAR surveys
Troy, C.D., Y.-T. Cheng, Y.-C. Lin, and A. Habib. Coastal Engineering
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