Jens Figlus Coastal Engineering Lab

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Dr. Katherine Anarde’s paper published in Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

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Congratulations to Dr. Katherine Anarde! A portion of her work on infragravity wave observations during hurricane overwash done during her Ph.D. and post-doc are now published in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (MDPI open access):

Anarde, K.; Figlus, J.; Sous, D.; Tissier, M. Transformation of Infragravity Waves during Hurricane Overwash. J. Mar. Sci. Eng.2020, 8, 545. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse8080545

 

Coastal engineering research – specifically laboratory and field experiments of sediment transport phenomena: barrier island morphodynamics, sand dune overtopping and overwash, beach protection and recovery, wave – structure – sediment interaction and vegetation effects on sediment transport, beach nourishment design and evolution.
Hydrodynamic and sediment transport instrumentation for lab and field experiments.
Applied process based numerical modeling of hydrodynamics, sediment transport, beach and barrier island morphology evolution, dune and structure wave overtopping, sediment overwash and beach recovery mechanisms.
Hydraulic engineering and environmental fluid mechanics – design of rock protection for slopes, aeration effects on stability, ocean outfall port simulations and studies, hydraulic model design.
Ph.D. Civil Engineering (Coastal Engineering Major), University of Delaware, USA
Expertise: Coastal, hydraulic and environmental engineering, sediment transport.
Adviser: Prof. Nobuhisa Kobayashi
Dissertation: “Coastal morphological evolution in the wet and dry zone.”		 02/2007 – 08/2010
Master of Civil Engineering (M.C.E.), University of Delaware, USA
Fulbright scholarship for graduate studies.
Major: Coastal Engineering.
Adviser: Prof. Nobuhisa Kobayashi
Thesis: “Nourished beach evolution on the Delaware Atlantic coast”.		 02/2006 – 02/2007
Dipl.-Ing., Civil Engineering, University of Karlsruhe (now KIT), Germany
Tulla medal and award (department of civil & environmental engineering).
Major: Environmental fluid mechanics and hydraulic engineering.
Advisers: Prof. Wolfgang Rodi and Prof. Gerhard H. Jirka		 10/2000 – 08/2005
University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD) scholarship to complete German Diploma thesis at the Water Research Laboratory (WRL) of the UNSW.
Advisers: Dr. Bill Peirson and Assoc. Prof. Ron Cox
Thesis: “Experimental investigation on steep rock protected slopes subject to overtopping flow.”		 03/2005 – 08/2005
Texas A&M University Galveston Campus – Department of Ocean Engineering (prior to 9/2015: Maritime Systems Engineering Department)

Courses taught:
OCEN 672 – Coastal Engineering (SP2020)
OCEN 682 – Coastal Sediment Processes (FA2017)
OCEN 400 – Basic Coastal Engineering (FA2012-2019)
OCEN 410 – Ocean Engineering Laboratory (SP2013-2020)
MASE 482 – Seminar (SP2013)
MASE 217 – Electrical Engineering: Circuits (SP2013)
CVEN 365 – Intro to Geotechnical Engineering (SP2014, SP2015)
CVEN 311 – Fluid Dynamics (SP2014, SP2015)
MASE 406/407 – Capstone Design Group Adviser (FA & SP 2012-2015)

Graduate student committees chaired or co-chaired at TAMU:
Nick West (MS OCEN FA2014), Craig Harter (MS OCEN SU2015), Kevin Frost (MS OCEN FA2015), Jacob Sigren (PHD MARB IDP FA2018), Tariq Alrushaid (PHD OCNG FA2018), Badreyah Almarshed (PHD OCEN FA2018), Altaf Taqi (PHD OCEN FA2020), Andrew Whitley (PHD OCNG SP2021), William Fuller (MS OCEN SP2020), Fangzhou Tong (PHD OCEN FA2023)

Graduate student committees chaired or co-chaired at other institutions:
Patricia Chardon-Maldonado (PHD Civil Engineering University of Delaware FA2016), Nina Wellmann (MS Civil Engineering University of Leipzig, Germany, FA2014), Olga Gloeckner (Dipl.-Ing. Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany, FA2013), Katherine Anarde (PHD Rice University FA2019)

Undergraduate student workers supervised:
Robert Tyler (OCSE, UG Research Scholar), Taylor Hennessy (OCSE), Melissa D’Amore (MARB), Adam Vaughn (OCSE), Michael Sager (OCSE), Clayton McNeal (OCSE), Matthew Power (OCSE, UG Research Scholar), Bryan Myres (OCSE, UG Research Scholar), William Prouse (OCSE), Deidra Dittmar (OCSE), Zachary Hinojosa (OCSE), Trent Cooper (OCSE), Ryan Booth (OCEN), James Conner (AERO), Daniel Hill (OCEN), James Roddy (OCEN)

 Associate Professor

since Fall 2019

 

Assistant Professor

2012 – 2019
Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware

  • Undergraduate course “Fluid Mechanics Laboratory”.
  • Prepared and held lectures on fundamentals of fluid mechanics. Instructed, guided and graded laboratory experiments for 120 undergraduate students each spring semester.
  • Supervised student researchers including diploma and master theses.
 Teaching Assistant

2006 – 2009
Texas A&M University Galveston Campus – Department of Ocean Engineering (prior to 9/2015: Maritime Systems Engineering Department)

  • Teaching, engineering research and service to the university and engineering community with an emphasis on water and coastal related issues.
  • Interests include physical and process based numerical modelling of sediment transport in the coastal zone, hydrodynamic and sediment transport measurements and instrumentation for lab and field experiments; water – sediment – structure interactions, wave overtopping and dune overwash, barrier island morphodynamics, interaction of vegetation and sediment transport, and hybrid coastal structures.
  • Responsible for developing own research group, acquiring research grants and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students.
 Associate Professor
since Fall 2019 Assistant Professor
2012 – 2019
Gauff Engineering Group (Germany – USA)

  • Business development, acquisition, contract execution and project management for the U.S. branch of the German Gauff Engineering Group.
  • Project coordination and supervision for U.S. subsidiary company HKC.
  • Technical lead for Organizational Change Management project with Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA).

Supervised personnel and lead project work groups

 Sr. Civil Engineer, Director of Business Development USA

09/2010 – 6/2012
Center for Applied Coastal Research, University of Delaware, Newark

  • Experimental investigation and numerical program development related to sediment transport during wave-induced dune overwash and ridge-runnel migration in the coastal zone (MORPHOS-3D project funded by US Army Corps of Engineers).
  • Independently designed and conducted physical model tests including acquisition, setup and maintenance of hydrodynamic instruments and 3D bathymetry laser scanner.
  • Analyzed field data on wave climate and beach morphology (funded by Delaware Department of Environment and Natural Resources).
 Graduate Research Assistant

01/2006 – 08/2010

 

Research Assistant

01/2004 – 06/2004
Institute for Hydromechanics, University of Karlsruhe (TH), Germany

  • Designed ocean outfall port using CORMIX and Delft3D hydrodynamic coupling.
  • Conducted hydraulic model experiments for industrial water cooling system in Qatar.
  • Participated in two joint projects funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG): “Experimental Investigation on Mass Transport in the Vicinity of Obstacles within a Flow” and “Large Turbulent Structures in Shallow Water Flows”.
 Graduate Research Assistant

11/2004– 12/2005

 

Research Assistant

10/2002 – 08/2003
Water Research Laboratory, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

  • Conducted experiments on rock protected slopes subject to overtopping flow (funded by DAAD scholarship).
 Professional Practicum

03/2005 – 08/2005
Experimental Instrumentation Acoustic Doppler velocimetry (ADV / ADCP), laser Doppler anemometry (LDA), laser induced fluorescence (LIF), optical backscatter (OBS), laser line scanner, current profiler, unmanned aerial vehicle and ground GPS surveying equipment, capacitance wave gauges, wave maker facilities, ferromagnetic and fluorescent sediment tracer systems
Computer Windows / UNIX OS; MS Office applications, MATLAB, FORTRAN, LabView, Maple, Corel Draw, LaTeX, HYBEKA, STWAVE, CSHORE, XBeach, SMS, CORMIX, Delft3D, ArcGIS
Languages German (native speaker), English (bilingual), French (intermediate), Spanish (intermediate)
Leadership Acquired valuable expertise in personnel management and strategic company development as Director of Business Development USA for the Gauff Engineering Group.
National Science Foundation (NSF) Collaborative Research: Ridge-Runnel Post-Storm Beach Recovery – Hydrodynamics, Sediment Transport, and Morphodynamics (PI)

PIRE: Coastal Flood Risk Reduction Program: Integrated, Multi-Scale Approaches for Understanding How to Reduce Vulnerability to Damaging Events (Co-PI, PI: Sam Brody)

RAPID: Hurricane Harvey Rapid Response: In-Situ Barrier Island Storm Impact and Recovery Measurements of Hydrodynamics, Morphodynamics, and Sedimentation across Hog and Follets Island, Texas (PI)

US GO-SHIP 2018 (107N) Cruise (A. Whitley)
US Army Corps of Engineers (DoD) In-Situ Measurements of Physical Forces and Biological Parameters in Coastal and Estuarine Systems, Galveston District (PI)

Sand Tracer Study of a Nearshore Berm in South Padre Island, Texas – Laboratory Tracer Analysis (PI)

Hydrodynamic Field Measurements in the Corpus Christi Ship Channel (PI)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) NTHMP: Implementing NTHMP-MMS Strategic Plan in Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Products for the Gulf of Mexico (Co-PI, PI: Juan Horrillo)

NTHMP: Development of Two Additional Tsunami Inundation Maps and Updating Existing Ones with Maritime Hazard Mitigation Products (Co-PI, PI: Juan Horrillo)

NTHMP: Development of Two Additional Tsunami Inundation Maps and Updating Port Aransas, TX inundation maps with the full set of tsunami sources (Co-PI, PI: Juan Horrillo)

NTHMP: Development of Two Tsunami Inundation Maps in the Gulf of Mexico and inclusion of the USGS Yucatan landslide tsunami sources (Co-PI, PI: Juan Horrillo)

NTHMP: Development of Two Tsunami Inundation Maps in the Gulf of Mexico and inclusion of the Meteotsunami Characterization for Panama City, FL (Co-PI, PI: Juan Horrillo)
Texas Sea Grant (NOAA / US Dept. of Commerce) If We Lose Follet’s Island, We Lose Coastal Communities and Christmas Bay: A Geological Framework and Numerical Model Study of the Sustainability of Follet’s Island (PI)

Guaranteeing Coastal Wetland Survival under Sea Level Rise through Nature-Based Beneficial-Use Dredged Sediment Placement: A Galveston Bay Living Laboratory
Texas General Land Office (GLO) CEPRA: Innovative Technology Seaweed Prototype Dunes (PI)

CEPRA: Innovative Technology Sustaining Dune Growth With Seabales (PI)

CMP: Geological Framework Study of Follet’s Island (Co-PI, PI: Tim Dellapenna)

CEPRA: Carancahua Bay Habitat Preservation and Enhancement (TX), Including Full Surveys, Design, and Permitting (PI: Rusty Feagin)
Coastal Beach and Bay Foundation Barrier Design and Landscape Integration for Galveston’s West End (Co-PI, PI: William Merrell)
State of Texas Research Development Funding: Laboratory Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters and Wave Flume Instrumentation (PI)

Research Development Funding: Field Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (PI)
Texas Institute of Oceanography Instrumentation Grant: Subsurface Wave Buoy and Current Profiler (PI)
TEES Young Faculty Fellow Award (Texas A&M University College of Engineering) 2018
Fulbright Alumni  
Member ASCE, COPRI, ASBPA, ISOPE  
Reviewer ASCE Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering, Elsevier Coastal Engineering, AGU Geophysical Research Letters, ASCE Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, World Scientific Coastal Engineering Journal, National Science Foundation and South Carolina Sea Grant Program  
Member of the International Society of Ocean and Polar Engineers (ISOPE) International Coastal Engineering Committee since 9/2015
Member Local Organizing Committee for International Conference on Coastal Engineering (ICCE) 2018 in Baltimore, MD  
·Voting Member Beach Maintenance Advisory Committee (BMAC) for the Galveston Park Board of Trustees 2012 – 2018
Recipient of Tulla Medal and Award for best graduate 2005 (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Karlsruhe, Germany). 01/2006
Recipient of German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD) scholarship to complete diploma thesis at the Water Research Laboratory (WRL) of the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.  03/2005 – 08/2005
Recipient of Fulbright scholarship for graduate studies in the United States.  08/2003 – 06/2004
ASCE Excellence in Civil Engineering Education (ExCEEd) Fellow