Stevens Institute of Technology Graduate Student Alicia Mahon Receives ASBPA Educational Award

Hoboken, NJ, August 29, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Stevens Institute of Technology PhD student Alicia Mahon has received the Educational award from the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) for her joint research involving Stevens Institute, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection on development and monitoring of a Feeder Beach in Long Branch, NJ.

Beginning in February 2009, Alicia’s research is part of a statewide beach replenishment program, which is “a part of the largest beach replenishment project in the world." Dr. Thomas Herrington, Associate Professor of Ocean Engineering in the Institute's Department of Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering and Assistant Director of the Center for Maritime Systems.

The Feeder beach project aims at inspiring tourism and activity among its shoreline which is a 15 to 20 billion a year revenue source. Many local surfers have stated that the man-made shorelines have an adverse affect on surfing conditions. The straight-line shape and steeper drop-off of the new shorelines prevent waves from breaking before hitting the shore. These complaints led the state Department of Environmental Protection to ask researchers at Stevens to develop an experimental sand placement design for the replenishment project; the result is the Feeder beach. Protruding over 700 feet offshore, the researchers hope the proposed shape of the beach will allow waves to begin breaking at the outermost point of the feeder beach and roll along the side of it until they reach the main beach, thus improving surfing conditions and preventing rapid erosion of the main beach from a direct assault of waves. The Stevens monitoring system entitled Dynamic Underwater Coastal Kinematic Surveying (DUCKS) enables researchers to track the changes in ocean coastline conditions. For a detailed description of Stevens beach replenishment, click here.

Alicia Mahon has been an integral part of the Stevens research team since the program inception, and continues to monitor monthly changes in the beach conditions. Working along Dr. Thomas Herrington, Professor Jon Miller, two other graduate students and several work study students – Alicia contributes much of the projects success to her professors “encouraging push towards student initiatives and research opportunities.” Alicia is currently studying the effects of Hurricane Bill as it relates to the Feed Beach coastline.

Alicia contacted the ASBPA with an abstract of the research project, and was chosen for the Educational Award winner of 2009. She will present her findings at the organizational national conference and banquet being held in St. Pete Beach, Florida in October. Among several distinctions, her research will be submitted to Shore & Beach, ASBPA’s technical journal, for consideration for a future issue.

“The Center for Maritime Systems is extremely proud of Alicia for winning the ASBPA's Educational Award, the third time in the last four years a Stevens student has been selected for the honor. The award is a testament to Alicia's hard work in organizing the data collection and analysis efforts with regards to the Long Branch beach re-nourishment project. Her award winning paper represents just a small part of the work that she's completed thus far, and is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to her PhD research focused on improved surf amenity and shore protection strategies for the NJ coast.” Professor Jon Miller, Research Assistant Professor.

In addition to being this year’s Educational Award recipient, Alicia is a member of the American Society of Chemical Engineers (ASCE) and the president elect of the North Jersey branch of the ASBPA. She is currently a PhD student at Stevens Institute, and aspires to attain her professional engineering license.

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