We are pleased to announce the following three keynote speakers.

 

 

Mick van der Wegen

Associate Professor at IHE Delft & Senior at Deltares, Netherlands

 

Keynote title: Exploring the Unknown: Sea Level Rise Impact on Estuarine Morphodynamics

 

Mick van der Wegen combines high-level academic research and education with a strong track record in international research consultancy. His major field of expertise relates to estuarine dynamics, morphodynamic modeling and integrated coastal zone management.

After graduating from TU Delft with an MSc degree in Civil Engineering (fluid mechanics) he obtained his PhD degree for a thesis entitled “Modeling morphodynamic evolution in alluvial estuaries” in 2010. Since 2012 Mick has a dual appointment as Associate Professor in Estuarine Dynamics at IHE Delft and as Senior Researcher at Deltares. He is Head of the Department of Coastal and Urban Risk and Resilience at IHE Delft. Mick’s major research comprises climate change impact on estuarine environments seeking to connect fundamental research to case studies worldwide. Special expertise relates to multiple scale morphodynamics, ranging from entire tidal basins to channel-shoal interactions, dredging and disposal strategies, as well as mudflat-vegetation dynamics in salt marshes and mangroves belts. For Mick, research implies exploring new paths beyond the state-of-the-art and to the benefit of an evolving society.

 

Dawei Guan

Professor at Hohai University

 

Keynote title: Improving Coastal Structural Resilience: Scour Research for the Safety of Offshore Wind Farm Monopile Foundations

 

Dr. Dawei Guan obtained his PhD in civil engineering from The University of Auckland, New Zealand, in 2015. He has been working at the College of Harbour, Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Hohai University, since 2015. During his tenure at Hohai University (2016–2017), he also served as a research fellow at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. In 2023, he was promoted to full professor at Hohai University. His research areas include river and coastal hydrodynamics, sediment transport, scour, experimental fluids, and MICP. In the past decade, he has served as the principal investigator for over 10 research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and Chinese industry partners. He received the J.C. Stevens Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2022 and the Best Paper Award from the International Journal of Sediment Research in 2023. He currently serves as Associate Editor of ICE-Maritime Engineering and Chair of the IAHR Scour Research Working Group.

 

 

Maitane Olabarietta

Professor at the University of Florida

Associate Director of the Center for Coastal Solutions

 

Keynote title: Extreme Storms and Their Far-Reaching Impacts: Forecasting Coastal Erosion, Water Quality, and Beyond

 

Dr. Maitane Olabarrieta’s research interests cover diverse oceanographic processes related to coastal hazards: flooding, erosion and transport of contaminants. Her main research goal is to improve the predictive capabilities of coastal hazards using numerical models: transport of pollutants, erosion and flooding during extreme events and long-term coastal morphodynamic changes. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Cantabria (Spain) in 2006.  She was one of the main developers of the OPROMS oceanographic forecast system currently used by the Environmental Institute of Cantabria (IH-Cantabria). In 2009 she moved to Woods Hole (USA), where she started her postdoctoral research at the USGS (Woods Hole Center). In 2013 she joined the University of Florida as an Assistant Professor, where she leads the Coastal Hazards Modeling Lab. Undergraduate and graduate students in the Coastal Hazards Modeling Lab, combine advanced numerical modeling, in situ measurements and remote sensing with to analyze coastal hydrodynamics, contaminant and sediment transport processes and coastal morphology at a wide variety of spatial and temporal scales. Dr. Maitane’s work on coastal oceanography has been recognized by the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers 2019, the AGU’s Outstanding Reviewers recognition award 2018 and the NSF Early Career Development Award 2016.

 

 

Stijn Temmerman

Professor at the University of Antwerp

 

Keynote title: Blue Carbon Accumulation in Salt Marsh Sediments in Response to Sea Level Rise

 

Stijn Temmerman is a professor in Earth Sciences specialized in coastal and estuarine systems. He obtained a PhD degree in Physical Geography at the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium) in 2003, worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and became a professor at the University of Antwerp (Belgium) in 2005. Stijn Temmerman and his team are specialized in the hydrodynamics, geomorphological and ecological dynamics of coastal and estuarine systems, in particular tidal marshes and mangroves. They study how these ecosystems form and evolve through interactions between tides, waves, storm surges, sea level rise, erosion, sedimentation, morphodynamics, vegetation dynamics, and carbon sequestration; using methods including local field measurements, lab experimentation, numerical modelling, remote sensing, and regional- to global-scale analyses. Their research has applications towards nature-based solutions, such as the restoration or creation of new tidal marshes and mangroves; how these wetland ecosystems contribute to nature-based mitigation of flood risks and shoreline erosion risks; and to climate mitigation through sequestration of carbon and greenhouse gasses. With his research, Stijn Temmerman aims to contribute to science-based solutions to improve resilience of coastal and estuarine socio-ecological systems against global change and local impacts.