PhD student Alicia Mahon has received the Educational award from the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) for her research project involving Stevens Institute of Technology, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection on the development and monitoring of a feeder beach in Long Branch, NJ.

Alicia’s research is focused on a beach renourishment project in Long Branch, NJ which was completed in February 2009, and 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 attempts to meet several objectives, not the least of which is to inspire tourism and activity along the shoreline which is a $15 to $20 billion a year revenue source for the State of NJ. Many local surfers have stated that previous renourishment projects have had an adverse affect on surfing conditions. The straight-line shape and steeper drop-off of these projects prevented waves from breaking in a manner conducive to surfing. These complaints led the State Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop an experimental sand placement design for the replenishment project.  The result was a feeder beach design, which protrudes over 700 feet offshore.  The hope was that the proposed shape of the beach would allow waves to begin breaking at the outermost point of the feeder beach, then roll along the sides until they reached the main beach.  The result would be improved surfing conditions and the prevention of rapid erosion of the main beach from a direct assault of waves.

To track whether the project is meeting these objectives, researchers at the Center for Maritime Systems, including Alicia, developed the Stevens Dynamic Underwater Coastal Kinematic Surveying (DUCKS) system, which enables them to record changes to the coast as the project evolves.  For a detailed description of beach replenishment, click here.

Alicia Mahon has been an integral part of the Stevens research team since the project’s inception, and continues to monitor monthly changes in the beach conditions. Working alongside Dr. Thomas Herrington, Dr. Jon Miller, several other Stevens graduate and undergraduate research 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 feeder beach coastline.  

Alicia submitted an abstract of the research project for the ASBPA 2009 National Coastal Conference, and was and was chosen for the Educational Award winner of 2009. She will present her findings at the 2009 National Coastal Conference 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 in a future issue. 

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Thomas Herrington
Associate Professor
Davidson Labs
Room D-204
Phone: 201.216.5320
Fax: 201.216.8214
Thomas.Herrington@stevens.edu