Jeff Marr, MS PE(Minnesota) - Principal Investigator

Jeff Marr is the Associate Director of Engineering and Facilities at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory. He manages SAFL’s Applied Research and Engineering Team, which has ongoing work in the fields of boat generated wave impacts, hydraulic modeling, wind and water power, river engineering and restoration, and technology development for field monitoring. Marr is a licensed civil engineer in the state of Minnesota specializing in hydraulics and sediment transport. 

Jeff is Principal Investigator for this project and is responsible for project oversight and will participate in all aspects of the effort.

Contact info: aboutcutoffwall@umn.edu; (612) 624-4427

Richard Christopher

Richard Christopher is a Researcher 5 at St. Anthony Falls Laboratory and has been the principal physical model designer and builder 24 years. Richard has also served as a field geologist for the Minnesota Geological Survey for the Minnesota County Atlas Project and in the private sector as a field geologist with Enecotech Midwest managing monitoring networks and designing and constructing groundwater and soil remediation systems. Richard will conduct geologic research, location surveys and physical model design and construction for the cut-off wall project.

Carrie Jennings, PhD, PG 

Research and Policy Director, Freshwater. A licensed professional geologist, she will apply her understanding of geology, hydrogeology and river evolution to guide model development and interpretation.  Freshwater is dedicated to translating science to policy so Dr. Jennings communicates results to key legislators, managing agencies, and the public.

Eileen Kirby  

Policy and Research Coordinator, Freshwater. An environmental policy and research specialist with an environmental science background, Eileen will provide experience in scientific communication and community engagement. 

Michelle Stockness

Michelle Stockness, PE is a professional civil engineer and has over 20 years of experience working in water across sectors in Minnesota including municipal water utilities, industries, business, regulatory agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community groups. She has demonstrated a capacity to build strong relationships, to be a trusted team leader, and to drive positive change. As executive director of Freshwater, she is committed to finding shared solutions to complex water issues.

Tony Runkel

Tony is Interim Director and Lead Geologist of the Minnesota Geological Survey. He is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences where he currently contributes to teaching Hydrogeology and occasionally serves on graduate student committees. His research targets the properties of bedrock in Minnesota that control groundwater flow, especially the transport of contaminants. Recent emphasis has been on fractured rock hydrogeology and the groundwater nitrate problem in southeastern Minnesota.

Aaron Hirsch

Aaron grew up in Minnesota where he received a B.A. from St. John's University in geology followed by a Masters at Boston University and PhD at the University of Rhode Island specializing in seismic methods.  Aaron is the geophysicist at the Minnesota Geological Survey.  His research at the survey involves utilizing geophysical methods (i.e. magnetics, gravity, seismic, etc...) to investigate the geology, tectonics, and rock properties from near surface through the crust in Minnesota and greater upper midwest. 

Julia Steenberg

Julia Steenberg is a geologist, project manager and technical map editor with the Minnesota Geological Survey, part of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Minnesota. Julia has a BA in geology from Gustavus Adolphus, and a MS in geology from Idaho State. Julia is heavily involved in the County Geologic Atlas mapping program and has authored many geologic maps across the state over the last 15 years. Her mapping and research interests include Paleozoic and Mesozoic bedrock of Minnesota, and characterizing the properties of bedrock that influence groundwater flow for groundwater resource management and protection.

Eric Waage

Eric Waage is the Director of Emergency Management for Hennepin County, Minnesota. He leads the county’s disaster mitigation, preparation, response and recovery efforts, as well as its continuity program. He has helped navigate the county through several major disasters and other crisis during his tenure. He has also has deployed to other states in support of catastrophic disaster responses.  Eric will provide the project expertise in risk and hazard assessment. 

John Anfinson, PhD

Dr. John O. Anfinson has been researching, writing and speaking about the upper Mississippi River for over 35 years. He spent the first half of his 40-year federal career with the St. Paul District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as District Historian and Cultural Resources Program Manager. He joined the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service, in 2000, where he served as the Cultural Resources Program Manager (2000-2010), Chief of Planning (2010-2014) and Superintendent (2014-2021).

Dr. Anfinson is the author of The River We Have Wrought: A History of the Upper Mississippi (University of Minnesota Press, 2003), River of History (National Park Service and Corps of Engineers, 2003) and many articles. He has given many presentations to local, national and international audiences. In 2005, he was asked to be one of 10 American delegates to a joint U.S./Dutch river symposium at the Hague, Netherlands, where he helped examine the nature of river resources policy in the two counties.

Dr. Anfinson sits on and has sat on a number of Boards of Directors. He is a founding board member of Friends of the Mississippi River and the Minnesota Marine Art Museum Board in Winona, Minnesota. He is currently Vice-Chair of Friends of the Mississippi River. He is the Metro Region Commissioner and Vice-Chair of the Minnesota Mississippi River Parkway Commission (Great River Road) and Pilot-ProTem (Vice-Chair) of the 10-state Mississippi River Parkway Commission. Dr. Anfinson also sits on the National Parks Conservation Association’s Midwest Council. From 2013 to 2021, he served on the Citizen Advisory Board for the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Center at the University of Minnesota. In 2022, John became a Guest Speaker on American Cruise Lines boats operating between St. Paul and New Orleans, giving presentations on a variety of subjects covering the whole river.

He holds a Ph.D. in U.S. History from the University of Minnesota.