Faculty Profiles

Weaver, Robert

Associate Professor of Ocean Engineering, Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences

Video on Science Works! : Surf Engineering

REAL TIME FLORIDA COASTAL GUIDANCE
(East Central Coast, Indian River Lagoon, and Brevard County)

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
• B.S. Mathematics (MINOR Physics), 1999, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• University Stuttgart, 1999

Recognition & Awards

• AAUS Certified
• NAUI DiveMaster Cert.
• Sigma Pi Sigma, Pi Mu Epsilon

Current Courses

• OCE 2901 Surf Engineering Analysis 
• OCE 3030 Fluid Mechanics
• OCE 3521 Hydromechanics / Wave Theory
• OCE 4522 Coastal Processes & Shoreline Design
• 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

• Real Time Forecasting of Waves and Storm Surge
• 3D hydrodynamics and development and validation of 3D capabilities in ADCIRC
• Phytoremediation of eutrophic waters in coastal lagoons
• Indian River Lagoon Experiment (IRLEX) 2012
• Circulation modeling for IRL and coastal waters
• Remediation of coastal lagoons
• Sand bypassing solutions for hardened inlets
• 3D wave forcing for ADCIRC
• 3D surface mixing for circulation models
• Managed system for flushing Banana River
• Removal of fine grained sediments and Muck

Master of Science Theses:

• Experimental and Numerical Analysis of the Drag Force on Surfboards with Different Shapes, O. Lahlou

• Development, Testing, Analysis, and Efficiency of a Variable Area Dredge in Combination with a Mobile Ferrate-Based Treatment Facility, L.A.Provost

• Controlled Intake Area Dredging for Fine Sediment Removal to Improve Water Quality in the Indian River Lagoon, H. Grisanti
• Hydrodynamic Resistance of a Surfboard:an Analytical, Emperical and Statistical Ananylsis, A. Kledzik
• A Physical and Computational Comparison of FLoating Breakwater Design Efficiencies for Habitat Restoration in the Indian River Lagoon, A. Stehno
• A Physical and Computational Study of Semi-Hemispherical Artificial Reef Breakwater Designs to Optimize Efficiency for Use as Shoreline Protection, S. Baboolal
• Impact of Constructing a Low Crested Weir in Cape Canaveral on Flushing in the Banana River, A. Saberi
• 3D Barotropic Hindcast of Water Levels and Vertically Distributed Currents Generated by Hurricane Gustav: Implementing Vertically Distributed Wave Forcing in ADCIRC+SWAN, J. Todd

Selected Publications

Journal Special Editions

•  Coastal Water Quality: From Science to Solutions, Guest Editors: Weaver, R.J. and Hunsucker, K.Z., Marine Technology Society Journal 52 (4), 5-5, 2018
• Marine Dredging Engineering: Environmental Dredging, Guest Editor: Weaver, R.J., Journal of Marine Science and Engineering , Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 May 2019

Peer Reviewed

• Taeb, P. and Weaver, R.J. , ”An operational coastal forecasting tool for performing ensemble modeling”. (2018), Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science,ECSS 2018 247.
• Weaver, R.J., Hunsucker, K., Sweat, H., Meyers, A., Bethurum, A., Devlin, A., Grenevicki, A., Kaylee, K., Kate, L., Sabrina, B., Meyers, M. L., Lieberman, K., Bruner, S., Devlin, I., Grenevicki, A., and Kraver, T., (2018), "A Study of Oyster Recruitment on Pile Mounted Mats and Shell-Filled Bags near the Eau Gallie River Mouth in the IRL", Marine Technology Society, 52 (4).
•  Provost, L.A., Weaver, R.J., Waite, T.D., and Grisanti, H.C., (2018) ”Fabrication and Testing of a Variable Area Dredge Coupled with an Inline Slurry Treatment System”, Marine Technology Society, 52 (4).
• Colvin, J., Lazarus, S., Splitt, M., Weaver, R.J., and Taeb, P., ”Forcing and parameterizations for wind setup in a coastal estuary”, (2018), Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
• Weaver, R.J., Stehno, A., Bonanno N., Sager, A., Kenny, A., Zehnder, J.A., "Scale Model Design of Oyster Reef Structures as Part of a Showcase Living Shoreline Project", (2017), Shore & Beach
• Weaver, R. J., Taeb, P., Lazarus, S., Splitt, M., Holman, B., and Colvin, J., ”Sensitivity of estuarine circulation to spatial and temporal resolution of input meteorological forcing of a cold front passage”, (2016), Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
• Saberi, A., Weaver, R. J.,”Simulating Tidal Flushing Response to the Construction of a Low-Crested Weir Connecting Port Canaveral to the Banana River, Florida,” (2016), Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
• Weaver, R. J., Johnson, J. E., Ridler, M., (2015) ”Wind Driven Circulation in a Shallow Micro-Tidal Estuary: the Indian River Lagoon”, Journal of Coastal Research
• Dietrich, J.C., Trahan, C.J., Howard, M.T., Fleming, J.G.,Weaver, R.J., Tanaka, S., Yuf, L., LuettichJr., R.A., Dawson, C.N., Westerink, J.J., Wells, G., Lu, A., Vega, K., Kubach, A., Dresback, K.M., Kolar, R.L., Kaiser, C., Twilley, R.R. (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
• 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.

Peer Reviewed Proceedings

• Maglio, C. K., Weaver, R .J., Trefry, J. H., Bostater, C. R., Shenker, J. M., Johnson, K. B, Trulock, S. F., Ousley, J. D. Cotter, P. F. and DeMarco, P. M., (2016), ”Environmental benefits realized during navigation maintenance dredging: A Case Study in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida”, Proceedings of the Twenty-First World Dredging Congress, WODCON XXI, Miami, Florida, USA.
• Sheng, Y. P., Davis, J. R., Figueirdo, R., Liu, B., Liu, H., Luettich, R., Paramygin, V. A., Weaver, R., Weisberg, R. Xie, L., Zheng, L. (2012). ”A Regional Testbed for Storm Surge and Coastal Inundation Models - An Overview.” Proc. Estuarine and Coastal Modeling.
• 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.
• Niedoroda, A. W. , L. Hatchet, H. Das, A. Cox, R. Weaver, S. Baig and S. Saiffe. 2007., The Hurricane Katrina Storm Surge in Mississippi, ASCE Coastal Sediments 07, New Orleans, L.A., USA
• Weaver, R. J. and D. N. Slinn. 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 D. N. Slinn. 2004., "Effect of Wave Forcing on Storm Surge", Proceedings of the 29th International Conference on Coastal Engineering, Lisbon, Portugal 

In-Submission

• Taeb, P., Weaver, R.J., and Lazarus, S., (2019 in submission) “A seven-member ensemble, coastal hydrodynamic forecast tool and its application to the Indian River Lagoon system”,  ASCE Coastal Sediments Proceedings 19, Tampa/St. Pete, Florida

• Provost, L.A., Nezamoddini-Kachouie, N., and Weaver, R.J. (2019 in submission) ”Application of a Statistical Sediment Analysis Applied to Testing of a Variable Area Dredging Suction Head Designed for Fine Sediment Removal”
• Grisanti, H., Provost, L., and Weaver, R. (2019 in revision). ”Surgical Dredging for Fine Sediment Removal Through the Use of a Variable Intake Area Suction Head”. Western Dredging Association, Journal of Dredging. Manuscript submitted for publication.

In-Prep

• Weaver, R. J., Soucy, B., Stehno, A., Sager, A., Kenny, A. "A Laboratory Validation of a Parameterized Mangrove Model for Development of Forest Features to Cultivate an Understanding of Restoration Importance", 2019 in prep

• Weaver, R. J. and Luettich, R. A. ”Evaluating differences in modeled storm surge response between 2D and 3D constructs with focus on bottom stress and simulating the wave-enhanced layer”, 2019 in prep.
• Weaver, R. J. and D. N. Slinn. ”Barrier Island Effects on Storm Surge at the Coast” , 2019 in prep

Invited Talks

• Weaver, R. J., (2018), " Our Indian Rivewr Lagoon: Problem, Solutions and Timeline, Sea Oaks Community, Vero beach, FL
• Weaver, R. J., (2014), ”Circulation, Climate Change and Resilience”, Lagoon Action Assembly, Florida Institute of Technology, May 2014
• Weaver, R. J., (2014), ”Indian River Lagoon Research Institute”, IRLRI Congressional Briefing, January 21, 2014
• Weaver, R. J., (2012), ”Our Backyard Laboratory for Water Quality Solutions: The IRL, Lagoonal Circulation, and Engineering/Biological Solutions to Water Quality”, Spacecoast Science Cafe, Fall 2012, Invited Oral Presentation/Discussion
• Weaver, Lazarus, Splitt (2016), "Forecasting of Hurricane Matthew and for future storms", BOard of Trustees Meeintg , Florida Institute of Technology.