Conference Session

Hurricane Katrina

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

W. Robert Story, Virginia Tech; Brian LeCroy, Virginia Tech; Christina Pace, Virginia Tech; Michael Palmer, Virginia Tech; Leigh McCue, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Ocean and Marine

surveying prior research as well as recent and historical incidents, the primaryobjective of this work is to aid in the prevention of exposure to catastrophic vessel conditions.As a secondary objective, the paper discusses the pedagogical benefits of incorporating thesetypes of case studies in an undergraduate curriculum.1.0 IntroductionThroughout history, natural disasters have taken their toll on both human lives and the economy.For ships at sea, these disasters loom as a threat to passengers, crew and cargo, as well as to theships themselves. While the disasters themselves cannot be prevented, measures can be taken tolessen the toll they take on the shipping industry.In 2004 alone, economic losses attributed to natural disasters exceeded 115

Conference Session

Hurricane Katrina

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Qin Chen, University of South Alabama

Tagged Divisions

Ocean and Marine

the driving force of many processes. The practice of coastal engineering involves not onlythe traditional civil engineering principles, but also the sciences of oceanography and coastalgeology. The typical civil engineering curriculum of an undergraduate program, however, doesnot include course work in marine sciences and coastal engineering.The discipline of coastal engineering in the United States began in the 1930s in connectionmainly to oceanfront development and grew significantly during the Second World War inconnection to naval operation and troop landing on the beach. Today, coastal engineers have Page 11.60.3expanded their role from