visit author page

Robert W. Whalin, Ph.D., P.E. is Professor of Civil Engineering College of Science, Engineering, and Technology, Jackson State University. He serves as Director, Coastal Hazards Center of Excellence, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Dr. Whalin led the new School of Engineering through a highly successful accreditation evaluation by the ABET. He oversaw completion of design, construction and occupation (in 2009) of a new 90,000,000 square foot Engineering Building. He is Director Emeritus of the Engineer Research and Development Center.
Dr. Whalin completed 36 years of exemplary civilian service in the Department of Army including 20 years in the Senior Executive Service as Director, Army Research Laboratory (ARL); Director, USACE* Waterways Experiment Station; and Technical Director, USACE Coastal Engineering Research Center. The ARL program exceeded $1,100,000,000 and had a 2,200 person workforce at six primary locations throughout the United States plus small groups in Japan and the United Kingdom. Dr. Whalin was the recipient of the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award, two Meritorious Presidential Rank Awards, Exceptional Civilian Service Award, three Meritorious Civilian Service Awards, two Department of Army Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Equal Employment Opportunity and the Silver Order of the DeFleury Medal.
A registered professional engineer, Dr. Whalin holds a BS degree in Physics from the University of Kentucky, a MS degree in Physics from the University of Illinois and a PhD in Oceanography from Texas A & M University. Prior to his service with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he worked six years in Southern California for Tetra Tech Inc., National Engineering Science Co., Interstate Electronics Corporation and Hughes Aircraft Co.
Dr. Whalin is a renowned Coastal Engineer, widely recognized for pioneering experimental research of wave transformations in convergene zones and for innovative coastal models of long waves and non-linear wave transformations in harbors, bays, lagoons and estuaries. He has authored/co-authored over a hundred journal, conference, or symposia publications and technical reports.
*USACE is United States Army Corps of Engineers

visit author page

visit author page

Mr. Richardson is Deputy Director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Coastal Hazards Center of Excellence at Jackson State University. The Center is co-led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Mr. Richardson is an engineering graduate of The Citadel, the University of Miami, and the International Institute for Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering in Delft, The Netherlands. His career has focused on managing and performing applied research in coastal and hydraulic engineering. In 2009, he retired as Director of the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory of the Engineer Research and Development Center and began work at his current position.

visit author page

visit author page

Dr. Himangshu Das has 15 years experience in conducting coastal and oceanographic hydrodynamic, sediment transport and water quality studies, feasibility studies and design analysis. His modeling experience includes surge modeling, sediment transport, coastal zone transport including inlet and surf zone dynamics, TMDL development, groundwater transport. He has conducted numerous hydrodynamic and morphodynamic studies in river and tidally and wind dominated coastal regions along the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts. This work has required expertise in physical oceanography, beach dynamics, coastal and estuary processes, sediment dynamics and water quality. he has also developed and applied hydrodynamic models for circulation, sediment transport, water quality studies, surf zone transport, inlet dynamics, and storm surge analysis. Dr. Das has authored or coauthored more 20 technical publications on coastal and near-shore processes and ocean engineering.

visit author page

visit author page

Mr. Donald L. Hendon, Mississippi Department of Transportation
Mr. Hendon is an engineer in the Bridge Division of the Mississippi Department of Transportation and a graduate student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Jackson State University, JSU. Mr. Hendon is pursuing a MS Engineering degree under scholarship from the Coastal Hazards Center of Excellence at JSU sponsored by the Office of University Programs, Department of Homeland Security.

visit author page