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MARINE AFFAIRS COASTAL RESILIENCE LAB (MACRL)

Austin Becker, Associate Professor and Chair of Marine Affairs

Prof. Becker and his graduate students and research associates work across the fields of planning, policy, design and engineering. Together, the Marine Affairs Coastal Resilience Lab (MACRL) contributes to untangling complex natural hazards problems and the resulting challenges in policy and planning. MACRL receives funding support from the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Dept. of Defense, and the Dept. of Homeland Security through the Center of Excellence in Coastal Resilience. In projects such as the Rhode Island Coastal Hazards Analysis Modeling and Prediction system (RICHAMP), they conduct applied research using social science methods in close partnership with endusers such as the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency and the Rhode Island Dept. of Environmental Management. 

Prof. Becker currently serves as Dept. Chair of Marine Affairs and teaches Port Planning and Policy and Coastal & Marine Applications of GIS.

2020-22 Publications (*grad student, **undergrad)

Kalaidjian, E.*, Becker, A. Pinel, S. (2022). Insights into resilience planning theory and practice: A case study of U.S. Seaports. Frontiers in Sustainability. DOI 10.3389/frsus.2022.963555

Hill, D.* Becker, A. Vieira, A.** (2022 )The U.S. shipbuilding and repair industry’s considerations of coastal hazards resilience – a baseline survey. Maritime Policy and Management. DOI:10.1080/03088839.2022.2138597

Becker, A., Hallisey, N.*, Kalaidjian, E.*, Stempel, P., Rubinoff, P. (2022). Hazard consequence modeling for emergency management: A Participatory Action Research approach to enhance disaster response. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

McClean, E., Becker, A., (2021). Advancing seaport resilience: Strategies to overcome decision making barriers. Frontiers in Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2021.673630.

Becker, A., Hallisey, N.*, Bove, G.* (2021). Toward Regional Hazard Risk Assessment: A Method to Geospatially Inventory Critical Coastal Infrastructure Applied to the Caribbean. Journal of Infrastructure Preservation and Resilience.

Stempel, P.*, Becker, A. Rubinoff, P., Fultineer, S., (2021). Beyond the Blue Blob: The Salience and Perceived Legitimacy of Alternative Sea Level Rise Visualizations. Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture. 10.14627/537705008.

Stempel, P.*, Becker, A., (2021). Is it scientific? Perceptions of semi-realistic 3D storm surge visualizations. Cartographica.

Becker, A. (2020). Climate change impacts to ports and maritime supply chains. Maritime Policy & Management, 47(7), 849-852. doi:10.1080/03088839.2020.1800854.

Mokashi, A., Becker, A., Corbett, J., (2020). America’s Marine Highway Stakeholders: A System Scale Analysis of Influence in Decision Making. Journal of Maritime Affairs.

Vanceylon, J., Lang, C., Becker, A., (2020). Whatever Floats Your Vote: Understanding Voter Support for Public Port Infrastructure Investments. Maritime Policy and Management. DOI: 10.1080/03088839.2020.1754478.

McIntosh, R.D.*, Becker, A. (2020), “Applying Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis to Weight Indicators of Seaport Vulnerability to Climate and Extreme Weather Impacts for U.S. North Atlantic Ports.” Environment Systems and Decisions. DOI: 10.1007/s10669-020-09767-y.

Henry, J.*, Becker, A., (2020). Port Stakeholder Perceptions of Sandy Impacts – A Case Study of Red Hook, NJ. Maritime Policy and Management. DOI: 10.1080/03088839.2020.1729434

Sweeney, B.*, Becker, A., (2020), Considering Future Sea Level Change in Maritime Infrastructure Design: A Survey of US Engineers. Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering (ASCE). Vol 146, No. 4. doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WW.1943-5460.0000583.

Bove, G.*, Becker, A., Sweeney, B., Vousdoukas, M., Kulp, S. (2020) A method for regional estimation of climate change exposure of coastal infrastructure: Case of USVI and the influence of digital elevation models on assessments. Science of The Total Environment 710.

Mclean, E.L., Becker, A. (2019) Decision makers’ barriers to climate and extreme weather adaptation: a study of North Atlantic high‐ and medium‐use seaports. Sustainability Science 11, 835-847.

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