Trade center disaster response among topics discussed as Stevens hosts Urban Shoreline Conference this week
A conference this week at Stevens Institute of Technology will feature a dual keynote address by NY Waterway Chairman Emeritus Arthur Imperatore and his son, Arthur Imperatore Jr. The two will detail how the ferry company's employees and boats rescued thousands of people from the immense disaster scene on lower Manhattan Sept. 11.
Arthur Imperatore Jr., who was traveling by ferry down the Hudson at the time of the attacks on the World Trade Center, led the disaster response, immediately radioing all possible NY Waterway ferries to the scene. The Sept. 11 response of NY Waterway and other watercraft on the Hudson River illustrates the importance of active and well-prepared resources on urban shorelines, a major theme of this conference, which also focuses generally on the revitalization of urban shorelines.
The keynote speech is set for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24, on the fourth floor, Wesley J. Howe Center, one block east of 8th Street and Castle Point Terrace, Hoboken, N.J., on the Stevens Institute of Technology campus. The keynote kicks off the Fourth Annual Conference of the Northeast Shore and Beach Preservation Association (NSBPA).
The full conference runs two days: Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 24-25. Topics covered will include urban shoreline structures and processes, the remediation of urban sites such as docks and piers, and water transportation in urban areas, among many other areas of interest.
"The conference on Thursday and Friday will focus on challenges in waterfront development and environmental restoration, with an emphasis on community involvement in shoreline planning," said Dr. Thomas Herrington, conference chair and a research professor in the Dept. of Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology.
For more information on the conference and its full lineup of speakers and presenters, visit its web site at: personal.stevens.edu/~therring/nsbpa.html
Also, the week's coastal issues events at Stevens continue Friday with a symposium on urban shorelines sponsored by the Coastal Zone Foundation. The symposium will cover urban shoreline planning, economic impacts, access and recreation issues on urban shorelines, and community/government partnerships. It will feature national coastal experts and will include reports on urban shorefront issues from Europe to the Great Lakes and from Boston to Coney Island.
Herrington said about 100 participants are expected to attend the three days of activities. They include international presenters and a variety of experts from across the United States.
Individuals who wish to register for the conference and/or symposium may do so in advance by contacting Dr. Herrington at: Phone: (201) 216-5320, Fax: (201) 216-8214, or e-mail: therring@stevens.edu. Registration also will be available at the door on each day of the conference and the day of the symposium. The conference and symposium are free to students and members of the press.
Co-sponsors of the urban shorelines conference include the NSBPA, the American Society of Civil Engineers, through its Coasts, Oceans, Ports and Rivers Institute; the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium; and the New Jersey Sea Grant college program, a program of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
[Note to media: : Media are welcome to attend all or part of this conference free of charge. For information on attending, including logistics and parking permits, please call Cass Bruton-Ward at the number above. The conference runs Oct. 24-25, with a symposium on Oct. 26]
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.
Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.
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