Stevens Dr. Thomas Herrington Elected to ASBPA Board of Directors

Hoboken, NJ, December 24, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Dr. Thomas Herrington, Associate Professor of Ocean Engineering and Assistant Director of the Center for Maritime Systems at Stevens Institute of Technology, has been elected to the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) Board of Directors.

"This appointment is recognition of Professor Herrington's impressive accomplishments in the field of Coastal Engineering, and the high esteem in which he is held by his peers across the country,” says Dr. Michael Bruno, Dean of the Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering and Science.

A prestigious organization at the nexus of science and policy, the ASBPA uses a holistic approach to maintain, protect and enhance America’s coast. Dr. Herrington will provide his ocean engineering expertise to an organization comprising numerous disciplines, from science to politics to business.

“What I hope to bring as a scientist and a researcher is an understanding of what we know about coastal processes, how the coast evolves over time, how we can best sustain the coast of the United States as a resource for people across the country,” Dr. Herrington explains.

"I am so pleased that Tom has been appointed to the board,” says Dr. Alan Blumberg, Director of the Center for Maritime Systems at Stevens. "His work on nearshore processes has been outstanding. Tom's participation on board sub-committees in the past has demonstrated his impressive leadership skills. I am sure that he will contribute much to the scientific prestige of the association."

Dr. Herrington is well-versed in coastal issues through work he has done at and outside of Stevens. He is one of the chief architects of the NJ Coastal Monitoring Network, as well as the NJ Coastal Storm Surge Warning System, one of the first completely Internet-based, real-time coastal ocean observing and warning systems in the United States. He currently serves as Director of the Stevens - NOAA New Jersey Sea Grant Cooperative Extension in Coastal Processes and Director of New Jersey Coastal Protection Technical Assistance Service. In addition to these responsibilities, Dr. Herrington is Vice President of the Northeast Chapter of ASBPA.

Dr. Herrington says he has felt drawn to the ocean since childhood, growing up in Ocean City, New Jersey. He fell in love with coastal engineering as an undergraduate at Stevens working in the Davidson Laboratory. "There’s no facility like the Davidson Laboratory in the world," he recalls. "It’s a very unique and interesting place to work." After receiving a B.E. in Civil Engineering, Dr. Herrington stayed in the School of Engineering and Sciences to pursue his M.E. and Ph.D. in Ocean Engineering.

Now, as an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Ocean Engineering, Dr. Herrington’s research focuses on coastal hydrodynamics, sediment transport, wave-structure interaction, coastal meteorology, coastal hazard migration, and the development of coastal observing systems.

His work at Stevens coincides with interests of the ASBPA science and technology committee, most recently in exploration of coasts as multi-use entities. "At Stevens we’ve been studying the impact of large-scale beach renourishment projects in New Jersey in terms of their effectiveness in preventing damages from coastal storms and also their impacts on surfing, fishing, and SCUBA diving," Dr. Herrington says. Research like this will help him to contribute positively to the ASBPA.

He is author or co-author of over 75 journal, outreach, and technical publications in the field of coastal and ocean engineering. He is a contributing author of the NJ State Hazard Mitigation Plan. He has also been issued a patent for a "Mechanical Rotating Brush Device for Removing Biofouling from Juvenile Clam Screens." Dr. Herrington is an active member of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association and the New Jersey State Hazard Mitigation Planning Team.

###