Our coasts are beautiful places to live, work, enjoy, and explore. This website is an invitation to learn more about how Dr. Jens Figlus and his team at the Coastal Engineering Lab (CEL) combine field, laboratory, and numerical model research to enhance our understanding of coastal processes and help solve complex engineering problems related to beach erosion and coastal storm risk reduction. This site also highlights related teaching and service activities as part of Dr. Figlus’ commitment to his students, department, community, and the Texas A&M family.
Dr. Figlus is an associate professor with the Ocean Engineering Department at Texas A&M University and is based on the Galveston Campus. His research interests include sediment transport dynamics, coastal risk-reduction systems, and engineering-with-nature concepts for coastal resilience. Current research efforts involve field experiments and numerical model analysis of beneficial use dredge material placement to support wetland resilience against sea level changes, nearshore and barrier island system dynamics, physical model testing of vegetated dunes and hybrid coastal structures under wave attack, as well as laboratory and field investigations on microbially-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) to support nearshore coastal structure design.
As part of a rigorous ocean engineering curriculum Dr. Figlus teaches courses on coastal engineering, sediment transport, fluid dynamics, geotechnical engineering, and ocean instrumentation among others. He supervises graduate and undergraduate students as they join CEL while completing their dissertations and research theses.