Request Username
Can't sign in? Forgot your username?
Enter your email address below and we will send you your username
Meet the Editor: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
The Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering (JWW) is a strong forum for civil engineering disciplines related to ocean, coastal and riverine waters as well as the interaction of these waters and the adjacent built and natural environments. Topics include dredging, floods, sediment transport, tides, wind waves and storm surge, tsunamis, climate change, rising sea level, extreme weather events and other hazards that affect shorelines, waterways, estuaries, and ports and harbors, as well as efforts to mitigate the impact of such hazards. Of equal interest is the development and operation of offshore facilities and ocean resource utilization, such as renewable energy and ocean mining.
Andrew Kennedy met with ASCE Publications about his role as Editor and goals for the journal. Kennedy, Ph.D., M.ASCE is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at the University of Notre Dame.
ASCE Publications: How do you differentiate your journal from similar journals in the civil engineering field?
Kennedy: The Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering (JWPCOE) has a long history as an ASCE specialty journal, growing out of the Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers, which began in 1875, to become the Journal of the Waterways Division in 1956, and continuing to expand in scope over the years to become what it is today. This has given us an unmatched history of publishing on important engineering topics in the marine environment and responding to changing societal needs.
ASCE Publications: What are the critical topics you want to see covered in this journal?
Kennedy: Important JWPCOE topics largely relate to technical aspects of societal issues in marine environments. In the short term, these often include continuing port and waterway operations; and storm-related issues such as wave transformation, scour and erosion, storm surge, and structural damage. In the longer term, sedimentation and erosion on coasts and waterways dominate planning in many locations, while sea level rise will further stress our coastal population and infrastructure. In both the short term and long term, JWPCOE needs to develop and publish technical advances that will allow us to meet the challenges of today and the future.
ASCE Publications: What are the biggest challenges facing researchers working in your field of engineering today and in the coming years?
Kennedy: The biggest challenges in all of our fields are related to the complexity and interconnectivity of problems. Coasts and marine environments are never static, and changes to one aspect (e.g. sediment) lead to changes in other aspects (e.g. hydrodynamics). Scales from mm to thousands of km can all be important for the same problem. Many of our greatest challenges lie with taking these complex problems, synthesizing the important aspects and developing tractable and useful solutions.
ASCE Publications: What inspired you to become a Civil Engineer?
Kennedy: Looking at different engineering disciplines, their required classes, and further ahead to careers, Civil Engineering seemed to have the most interesting things going on, with a combination of theory and practice, and potential to work in interesting locations. My most interesting work location was likely the Philippine islands of Samar and Leyte after Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, showing the power of what was then the strongest landfalling tropical cyclone ever recorded.
ASCE Publications: What aspirations do you have for the future of the journal?
Kennedy: Over the next decade, I would like to see JWPCOE become the journal of record for both forward-looking technical innovations, and backward-looking reports of important events and projects. This will set us up well to serve the engineering community both in the United States and worldwide.
ASCE Publications: How does climate change and sustainability impact the content you publish?
Kennedy: Climate change and sea level rise introduce additional uncertainty into all plans for waterways, ports, coasts, and oceans. For example, there is no one who can state with certainty what sea levels will be in 2100, with an extremely wide range of possibilities. All problems in JWPCOE face these issues, with additional complexities arising from interactions between human activities and natural response. There is no shortage of challenges.
ASCE Publications: What emerging technologies are impacting your area and how do you address these in the journal?
Kennedy: Emerging technologies in fields covered by JWPCOE mirror those in many other engineering disciplines. Advances in hardware and computational techniques have continually enabled new studies that could not even have been considered a decade earlier. Advances in electronics have enabled new observational platforms and techniques. All of these improvements in fundamental capabilities enable Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, but I will caution strongly that all JWPCOE publications in these areas must demonstrate improvements in understanding and not simply use these tools as a magic black box.
ASCE Publications: Do you have any advice for new researchers?
Kennedy: Learn how to formulate and explain a problem. Find a niche on an important topic and make it yours. Collaborate with others outside your area to work on larger projects. And work on things you care about.
Learn more about contributing to the Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering.