General Statement:
My primary interests involve many aspects of surface wave generation and propagation, including shelf-scale wave transformation, nonlinear wave-wave interaction, tsunami inundation, wave breaking and nearshore circulation, and the effects of various bottom types on the propagation and transformation of surface waves. Recently, I have started working on transport of contaminated sediments and water quality issues, and wetlands erosion in estuaries, with a specific focus on Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel. I am also interested in data assimilation, and the ability to invert known or best-deduced dynamics to yield information such as bottom characterization parameters, input conditions and bathymetry. Generally, most of my work involves computational modeling; however, I have conducted laboratory tests at various facilities (Coastal Engineering Research Center at the U.S . Army Waterways Experiment Station; Texas A&M Coastal Engineering Laboratory; O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory at Oregon State University) and have directed and participated in field instrument deployments (Nearshore Canyon Experiment at Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Al Ghariyah, Qatar) and post-disaster field surveys (Galveston Island / Bolivar Peninsula, TX after Hurricane Ike in 2008; Mexico Beach / Panama City Beach / Port St. Joe, FL after Hurricane Michael in 2018; Marsh Harbour / Freeport / Man O’ War Cay, Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian in 2019; and Ft Myers Beach / Sanibel Island / North Ft Myers / Ft Myers Shores, FL after Hurricane Ian in 2022).
My work has been sponsored by National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research, US Army Corps of Engineers, National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, Texas Sea Grant, Environmental Protection Agency, National Academies, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Texas General Land Office, and Qatar National Research Fund.