August 4, 2025 Dr. Chang participated in the NSF NHERI RAPID Facility 2025 Intensive Training Workshop (July 22-25, 2025) to learned how to use the RAPID Facility for pre- and post-event field data collection. It was also a great opportunity to connect with others in the hazard and resilience research community and learn about new […]
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🏅 Dr. Chang Received CEJ Citation Award 2024
Dr. Chang received the Coastal Engineering Journal (CEJ) Citation Award 2024 for a widely cited review paper on how coastal forests protect against tsunami, storm surge, and wind waves.
Continue reading "🏅 Dr. Chang Received CEJ Citation Award 2024"🎓 MS Thesis Defense: Felipe Espinoza
July 30, 2025 Felipe Espinoza successfully defended his MS thesis in Ocean Engineering today! His research brought together numerical modeling and lab data analysis to study wave attenuation by mangroves — great work on a challenging topic! Well done, Felipe! 👏 🌊 Big thanks to the committee and faculty for their support:Drs. Nick Pizzo, Chris […]
Continue reading "🎓 MS Thesis Defense: Felipe Espinoza"🚀 New Paper: Field Study on Wave-Induced Mangrove Failure
June 15, 2025 Check out our new paper on a field experiment studying the critical wave conditions that lead to mechanical failure of Rhizophora stylosa mangroves! The field study tested the physical limits of mangrove resistance under wave forcing — an important step toward designing nature-based coastal defenses. Congrats to the team! 🎉 “Field experiment […]
Continue reading "🚀 New Paper: Field Study on Wave-Induced Mangrove Failure"🗣️ E-Week 2025: Undergraduate Research Showcase
April 21, 2025 Shoutout to our URISE students for presenting their research at the Undergraduate Research Showcase during E-Week 2025! Presentation title: The Effect of Rigid and Flexible Vegetation on Waves, and Sediment Transport in a Sloped Beach Environment Alex, Chris, Eleni, Heather, and Kitara shared their wave flume experiments investigating how coastal vegetation influences […]
Continue reading "🗣️ E-Week 2025: Undergraduate Research Showcase"🎤 Ocean Engineering Seminar: Prof. Kuang-An Chang
April 10, 2025 We were thrilled to welcome Prof. Kuang-An Chang from Texas A&M University as our invited speaker for this week’s Ocean Engineering Seminar! Prof. Chang gave a fantastic talk on “Application of Image-Based Methods for Wave-Structure Interaction and Nearshore Ocean Surface Dynamics Assessment,” sharing valuable insights from his research and experiences in both […]
Continue reading "🎤 Ocean Engineering Seminar: Prof. Kuang-An Chang"🚀 New Paper: SPH Simulations of Mangrove Effects on Breaking Wave Forces
January 15, 2025 Check out our new paper using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations to study how realistic mangrove models can reduce breaking wave forces on coastal structures. This work highlights the potential of nature-based designs in mitigating extreme wave impacts on coastal infrastructure. This work was led by Dr. Shengzhe Wang from the University […]
Continue reading "🚀 New Paper: SPH Simulations of Mangrove Effects on Breaking Wave Forces"🏅 Dr. Chang Appointed CI Senior Fellow
January 14, 2025 Dr. Chang has been appointed as a Senior Fellow of the Coastal Institute (CI) at the University of Rhode Island! The CI supports interdisciplinary research and engagement focused on coastal resilience, environmental sustainability, and science-informed policy. See the LinkedIn post here. Excited to be part of this collaborative community!
Continue reading "🏅 Dr. Chang Appointed CI Senior Fellow"🎤 Ocean Engineering Seminar: Prof. Nimish Pujara
October 17, 2024 We were excited to host Prof. Nimish Pujura from the University of Wisconsin-Madison as our invited speaker for this week’s Ocean Engineering Seminar! Nimish gave a talk on “Water-Wave-Driven Transport of Particles,” sharing how his group is exploring the ways wave dynamics drive particle transport. The talk sparked some really interesting conversations […]
Continue reading "🎤 Ocean Engineering Seminar: Prof. Nimish Pujara"🎤 Ocean Engineering Seminar: Prof. Reza Marsooli
October 10, 2024 We were glad to welcome Prof. Reza Marsooli from Stevens Institute of Technology as our invited speaker for this week’s Ocean Engineering Seminar! Reza gave a talk on “Wind Waves: Historical Trends, Coastal Impacts, and Nature-Based Mitigation,” sharing his team’s latest research on how wind waves affect coastal areas and how nature-based […]
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