Florida Institute of Technology
High Tech with a Human Touch
WEAVER, Robert J.
Assistant Professor of Ocean Engineering
Department of Marine and Environmental Systems, College of Engineering
Personal Overview
Dr. Weaver joined Florida Tech in August 2011 after working for three years as a post-doctoral research assistant at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Institute of Marine Sciences. While at UNC-CH IMS, he worked on coastal circulation projects including prediction of hurricane storm surge, tracking surface particles from the Deepwater Horizon Blowout, and 3D model development. From 2006-2008, he worked for URS Corps developing methodology for establishing flood levels for FEMA FIRM’s. In 2007 he founded a non-profit corporation whose mission is to encourage environmentally sound engineering, business and development practices. His areas of research and expertise include coastal flooding, coastal transport, water quality, 2D and 3D circulation modeling, and littoral processes.
Educational Background
Ph.D. Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering, 2008, University of Florida, Dept. Civil and Coastal Engineering
M.S. Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering, 2004, University of Florida, Dept. Civil and Coastal Engineering
University Stuttgart, 1999
B.S. Mathematics (MINOR Physics), 1999, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Recognition & Awards
AAUS Certified 2008-2011 UNC-CH IMS
NAUI DiveMaster Cert.
Sigma Pi Sigma, Pi Mu Epsilon
Current Courses
OCE 3030 Fluid Mechanics
OCE 3521 Hydromechanics / Wave Theory
OCE 4523 Coastal Engineering: Processes
OCE 4563 Port & Harbor Design
OCE 5525 Coastal Processes & Engineering
OCE 5563 Port & Harbor Engineering
ENS 3911 / 4911 Environmental Field Projects
Professional Experience
Post-Doctorate Researcher, 2008-2011,University of North Carolina IMS
Research Intern, 2006-2008, URS Corps.
Additional Duties
Research in coastal circulation or nearshore hydrodynamics
Founder/CEO of Engineering for the Earth, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which promotes
sustainable design, building and engineering practices (2007-present)
Current Research
3D hydrodynamics and development and validation of 3D capabilities in ADCIRC
Design of a modular instrumentation mount for shallow water survey vehicles
Phytoremediation of eutrophic waters in coastal lagoons
Selected Publications
– J.C. Dietrich, C.J.Trahan, M.T.Howard, J.G.Fleming, R.J.Weaver, S.Tanaka, L.Yuf, R.A. LuettichJr., C.N.Dawson, J.J.Westerink, G.Wells, A.Lu, K.Vega, A.Kubach, K.M.Dresback,R.L. Kolar, C.Kaiser, R.R.Twilley, (2012). "Surface Trajectories of Oil Transport along the Northern Coastline of the Gulf of Mexico", Continental Shelf Research
– Eggleston, D., Haase, A.,Luettich, R.,Weaver, R., Puckett, B. J. (2012). ”Estuarine Circulation and Predicted
Oyster Larval Dispersal Among a Network of Reserves”,Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
– Weaver, R. J. and Luettich, R. A. (2010). ”2d vs. 3d storm surge sensitivity in ADCIRC: Case study
of hurricane Isabel.” Proc. Estuarine and Coastal Modeling.
– Kennedy, A. B., Gravois U., Zachry, B., Luettich, R., Whipple, T., Weaver, R., Fleming, J., Chen, Q.,
Avissar, R. (2010) ”Rapidly Installed Temporary Gauging for Waves and Surge during Hurricane
Gustav.” Continental Shelf Research
– Weaver, R. J. and Slinn, D. N. (2010). ”Influence of bathymetric fluctuations on coastal storm
surge.” Coastal Engineering.
– Niedoroda, A. W. , Hatchet, L., Das, H., Cox, A., Weaver, R., Baig, S. and Saiffe, S. (2007)., The
Hurricane Katrina Storm Surge in Mississippi, ASCE Coastal Sediments 07, New Orleans, L.A., USA
– Weaver, R. J. and Slinn, D. N. (2006)., Real-Time and Probabilistic Forecasting System for Waves
and Surge in Tropical Cyclones, Proceedings of the 30th International Conference on Coastal Engineering,
San Diego, CA., USA
– Weaver, R. J. and Slinn, D. N. (2004)., Effect of Wave Forcing on Storm Surge, Proceedings of the
29th International Conference on Coastal Engineering, Lisbon, Portugal