Classes

CGN4905/6905 – Special Problems in Civil Engineering: Coastal Marine Geotechnics

With a likely acceleration in coastal flooding, sea-level rise and related coastal erosion in the future, as well as increased industrial usage of the coastal zone and oceans, there is an increasing demand for qualified civil engineers with an under- standing of coastal and marine processes. This course provides an introduction to coastal and marine geotechnical engineering, and exposes students to the array of geotechnical engineering considerations unique to coastal projects. These considerations include subaqueous sediment dynamics, in-situ geotechnical methods, complementary survey techniques and specific applications such as for offshore renewable energy and port and navigation infrastructure. In summary the course will cover the following topics:

• Geotechnical aspects of coastal and marine engineering.
• Introduction to the coastal zone as a working environment.
• In-situ geotechnical methods and complementary techniques for investigation.
• Survey strategies.
• Local field trips for demonstrating methods, practice and design.

Offered annually in Spring

Syllabus: CGN4905SyllabusCoastMarGeot CGN6905SyllabusCoastMarGeot

 

CGN6905 – Special Problems in Civil Engineering: Erosion and Scour in Coastal Environments

The course is designed as an introduction to scour processes. Scour leads to most bridge failures and failures of coastal structures in the U.S., and thus, is an important topic to civil engineers. The course will give a background on the governing processes and theory, state-of-the-art scour assessment and prediction methods. It will address scour around different type of structures (piles, pipelines, breakwaters, etc.) in current and wave dominated areas. It will also address the topic of ship propeller scour in ports, and the impact of liquefaction on scour. Students will gain a solid knowledge of scour processes, and will have the opportunity to apply scour assessment and prediction methods.

Offered in Spring 2024

Syllabus: CGN6905SyllabusScourEr

 

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Research Assistantships

Graduate Research Assistantships

Applicants must hold a Bachelors or Master’s degree (at the time of starting the position), preferably in civil engineering, oceanography, or geosciences/geophysics. The ideal candidate should have a strong background in geotechnical engineering, coastal sciences/engineering, or physics, and solid programing skills (preferred in Python). The candidate should have a strong interest in field work and experimental data collection. Proficiency in written and spoken English is essential. Successful candidates will study one of the following topics: 1) geotechnical site characterization and assessment of trafficabiliy of coastal soils from satellite images; 2) interaction between geotechnical properties and beach morphodynamics towards improving coastal erosion prediction by considering geotechnical parameters and coastal soil behavior; and 3) riverine and coastal seabed mechanics during flooding and inundation disasters. All of them will include field work and geotechnical testing, analyses, and method development for field data collection of soils in coastal or riverine environments. Interested individuals are encouraged to contact Prof. Stark at nina.stark@ufl.edu 

 1) The successful candidate will study geotechnical site characterization and the assessment of trafficabiliy of coastal soils from satellite images.  More specifically, the successful candidate will investigate the correlation between geotechnical properties of coastal soils and satellite based remotely sensed data, multispectral and synthetic aperture radar. They will also investigate relationships of geotechnical properties and geomorphodynamics, and the representation of coastal geomorphodynamics in satellite images. Furthermore, they will investigate the trafficability of different vehicle types across muddy to coarse grained coastal soils. Data collection will be based on utilizing existing data, as well as field data collection and geotechnical laboratory testing with emphasis on field data collection. The successful candidate has a strong interest in field work and experimental data collection, working in a diverse and interdisciplinary team, and in the fields of geotechnical and coastal engineering. The successful candidate will develop manuscripts for research journals and present results at conferences. 

 2)The successful candidate will study the interaction between geotechnical properties and beach morphodynamics towards improving coastal erosion prediction by considering geotechnical parameters and coastal soil behavior.  More specifically, the successful candidate will investigate the correlations between geotechnical properties of coastal soils, erodibility, and local sediment dynamics and geomorphodynamics at sandy beaches. Data collection will be based on utilizing existing data, as well as field data collection and geotechnical laboratory testing with emphasis on field data collection. The successful candidate will work closely with collaborators enhancing models for the prediction of coastal evolution. The successful candidate has a strong interest in field work and experimental data collection, coastline change and evolution, working in a diverse and interdisciplinary team, and in the fields of geotechnical and coastal engineering. The successful candidate will develop manuscripts for research journals and present results at conferences. 

 3) The successful candidate will study riverine and coastal seabed mechanics during flooding and inundation events. More specifically, the candidate will work on geotechnical properties of riverbed sediments and their relevance on infrastructure damages and erosion during the 2021 Western European Ahr River flood events and during the 2022 Yellowstone River flood event in Montana.  Data collection will be based on utilizing existing data, as well as possible additional field data collection and geotechnical laboratory testing. The successful candidate will work closely with collaborators from different disciplines of civil engineering. The successful candidate has a strong interest in natural hazards in geotechnical engineering, flood events, working in a diverse and interdisciplinary team, and experimental data collection. The successful candidate will develop manuscripts for research journals and present results at conferences. 

Interviews have concluded. First round decisions are anticipated by Jan 5.

 

Undergraduate research opportunities

Currently no vacancy, but if you are very interested in our research, please contact Dr. Nina Stark (nina.stark@ufl.edu).