I am focused on the application of fluid mechanics to engineering design of hydraulic and coastal structures. My current research applies laboratory experiments and numerical simulations to investigate storm surge, tsunami, and flood risk reduction measures, flood impact on critical infrastructure and buildings, fragility of flood defences, and low country hydropower and pumped hydro energy storage.
I hold undergraduate degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Physics from Rutgers University, and MSc. and PhD degrees in Civil Engineering from Stanford University, where I studied wave-current interaction and sediment transport in San Francisco Bay. As a Research Associate at Kobe University, I investigated wastewater outfall and river plume dilution in Osaka Bay, and then researched tsunami-induced infragravity waves at the University of Hawaii. I later obtained my Professional Engineering (PE) license while working on the design of hydraulic and coastal structures at URS Corporation in Oakland, California. After the 2011 Japan tsunami, I spent a year at Tokyo Institute of Technology focused on disaster forensics, determining the mechanisms of bridge and breakwater failure. Then, I spent 4 years as Associate Professor at Tohoku University, working on problems of structure failure during typhoons and river floods, and investigating the potential for generation of electricity by tides and waves. Since 2016, I have been Associate Professor at TU Delft, leading research on coastal and river flood hazards, infrastructure and building damage, flood defence fragility, and integration of civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering with urban planning disciplines for interdisciplinary and multifunctional design.
My involvement in the 4TU Centre for Resilience Engineering is focused on investigating the fragility of infrastructure at the component-level (i.e., the fragility of individual bridges, embankments, and floodwalls). This complements the systems-level expertise of most of the other scientists involved in the 4TU Resilience Engineering Center. Combining component-level and systems-level research in this way facilitates design of infrastructure components and systems with predictable behaviour in the face of a changing climate.