The Coastal and Ocean Engineering program

The Coastal and Ocean Engineering program at Oregon State University is a leading center for research and education in coastal engineering and nearshore science. We have a critical mass of faculty and staff specializing in both physical/numerical modeling of coastal dynamics and also field observations. A short list of focus areas includes:

  • Nearshore hydrodynamics

  • Remote sensing of coastal areas

  • Turbulent sediment suspension and transport

  • Tsunami propagation and inundation

  • Wave-structure interaction

The Coastal and Ocean Engineering Program is also the home of the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory, one of the largest and technically most advanced laboratories for coastal research in the world. The ties between Coastal and Ocean Engineering and the WRL ensure that students will have access to state-of-the art facilities for research in coastal and ocean processes. In addition, since complex coastal problems require multidisciplinary solutions, Coastal and Ocean Engineering has ties to programs in the College of Oceanic & Atmospheric Sciences (Marine Geology, Physical Oceanography), Geosciences, Mathematics, and Computer Science.

Coastal and Ocean Engineering faculty

Coastal and Ocean Engineering faculty maintain active research programs, our main funding agencies are the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, Oregon Sea Grant, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The faculty members concentrating in Coastal and Ocean Engineering and their research interests are summarized below:

  • Dan Cox, CH2M Hill Professor in Civil Engineering - Sediment transport, surf zone turbulence and boundary layer processes. Design and performance of coastal structures

  • Merrick Haller, associate head of graduate affairs, professor of coastal and ocean engineering, and the John & Jean Loosley Faculty Fellow - Remote sensing (x-band radar & optical) of nearshore breaking waves; wave modeling and shoreline response near complex bathymetric features; physical/numerical modeling of rip currents.

  • Tuba Ozkan-Haller, Associate Vice President for Research Administration and Development, professor of coastal and ocean engineering - Numerical modeling of nearshore hydrodynamics and sediment transport.

  • David Hill, professor of coastal and ocean engineering - Experimental fluid mechanics, visual imaging techniques, wave mechanics and sediment transport, computational tidal modeling.

  • Bryson Robertson, co-director of the Pacific Marine Energy Center, associate professor of coastal and ocean engineering - Detailed wave, tidal and offshore wind energy resource assessments, optimizing energy harvesting technologies, and numerically integrating marine power into the electrical grid at a variety of scale and opportunities. 
  • Meagan Wengrove, assistant professor of coastal and ocean engineering - Investigating sediment transport process physics and nature-based shoreland buffers for resilient coastal engineering solutions. 

  • Harry Yeh, professor of coastal and ocean engineering - Environmental Fluid Mechanics, Water Wave Phenomena, Flow-Structure Interactions, Physical Processes in Lakes and Oceans, and Tsunami Hazard Mitigation.

  • Solomon Yim, professor of coastal and ocean engineering - Deterministic and stochastic modeling, analysis, simulation, and design of nonlinear dynamical fluid/structure systems; applications in structural, ocean and earthquake engineering.

Learn more Coastal and Ocean research at CCE: