Seminars, News, and Events
Seminars, News, and Events
Here you’ll find the latest updates on groundbreaking research, student and faculty achievements, upcoming seminars, community partnerships, and major events shaping the future of river and coastal systems. From innovative resilience strategies along the Gulf Coast to global collaborations addressing climate and water challenges, our program is at the forefront of science and engineering solutions for dynamic environments. Explore how our students, researchers, and partners are advancing knowledge and building a more sustainable and resilient future.
Seminars
The RCSE Departmental seminar series will resume this semester. Seminars will take place on Thursdays from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM in Boggs 600.
All seminars will be held in person - subject to change at the University's discretion. For those unable to attend in person, a Zoom link to watch remotely will be made available. For Zoom link information, please contact msmith77@tulane.edu.
Date | SPEAKER | TITLE OF PRESENTATION | HOSTING FACULTY |
|---|---|---|---|
January 22, 2026 | Wade Foster | Environmental Engineering: what undergraduate engineering students need to lean | Department /Ehab |
January 29, 2026 | Annalisa Molini | TBD |
|
February 5, 2026 | Tom Decarlo (EES) | TBD | Soenke Dangendorf |
February 12, 2026 | Reepal Shah (ByWater) | TBD | Matt/ John Sabo |
February 19, 2026 | MARDI GRAS WEEK, NO SEMINAR | ||
February 26, 2026 | Enrica Viparelli, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, University of South Carolina | TBD | Matt Czapiga |
March 5, 2026 | Leigh-Anne Sharp (CPRA) | TBD | Annalisa Molini |
March 12, 2026 | Kemal Cambazoglu, University of Southern Mississippi | Near-Coastal Ocean Modeling with Applications for Coastal and Estuarine Hydrodynamics and Water Quality in Mississippi Sound and Bight | Ibrahim Demir |
March 19, 2026 | Matt Hiatt (LSU) | TBD | Mead Allison |
March 26, 2026 | SPRING BREAK WEEK, NO SEMINAR | ||
April 2, 2026 | Leah Kahler, TU Architecture and Built Environment | TBD | Barb Kleiss |
April 9, 2026 | Chantal Block | TBD | Ehab Meselhe |
April 16, 2026 |
| TBD | Grad Students |
April 23, 2026 | Noah Hendricks/TBD | TBD | Grad Student seminars |
News
Civil engineering minor among new programs in Tulane University’s River-Coastal Science and Engineering department
Already one of the nation’s leading universities in water and coastal studies, Tulane University is adding a civil engineering minor to its offerings for the upcoming 2023-24 academic year.
The Civil Engineering – Water Resources and Environmental minor for undergraduates will be offered through the Department of River-Coastal Science and Engineering. It will be the first program to bring civil engineering back to Tulane since instruction in the field was discontinued in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina.
RCSE Postdoc receives Associate Dean’s Research Award at the Tulane Research, Innovation and Creativity Summit
River-Coastal Science and Engineering Postdoc and researcher Dr. Qiang Sun recently received the Associate Dean’s Research Award at the Tulane Research, Innovation and Creativity Summit for his poster on “Contributions of sea-level components to High Tide Flooding along the continental U.S. coastlines”.
RCSE PhD student publishes paper in Environmental Science & Policy Journal
River-Coastal Science and Engineering PhD student Laura Manuel recently published a paper in the Environmental Science & Policy Journal. This paper presents a roadmap and detailed application of interdisciplinary, co-production strategies where managers and researchers are fully engaged in a collaborative manner in the design of a decision support tool for coastal ecosystems.
Tulane research confirms river diversion can limit impacts of Bonnet Carré Spillway openings
Responding to an unprecedented number of Bonnet Carre Spillway openings since 2018, scientists with Tulane University and the Environmental Defense Fund are hoping a new study will demonstrate to federal and state decisionmakers how upriver river diversions could reduce spillway openings and their associated environmental damage.
Tulane scientist to lead research project on sustainability of Gulf of Mexico ecosystem
Ehab Meselhe, a professor in the Tulane Department of River-Coastal Science and Engineering, has received a $125,000 grant to plan the creation of an online forecasting tool to help scientists, ecologists and engineers evaluate how freshwater diversion and other coastal restorations projects may impact marine mammals, shorebirds, barrier islands and fisheries from the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico.
Lower Mississippi River Science Symposium
The Lower Mississippi River Science Symposium seeks to establish a recurring forum to connect academic, government, and NGO scientists and managers in the region to share their research, ideas, and needs with the goal of building synergy. The theme for this recurring forum is threefold: optimizing the data collection network, strategizing the next generation of models, and outlining key applications of the data and models for management decisions.
Flowerree Symposium
The Flowerree Symposia provide a recurring forum to showcase Tulane University’s role in addressing climate change and its acute impacts in coastal regions such as southern Louisiana. The symposia highlight the local dimensions of a global crisis while focusing Tulane faculty, students, and community stakeholders on how the university can contribute to an evidence-based conversation about solutions. The goal is to bring together ideas and approaches that span the scientific and engineering dimensions of the climate crisis, as well as its human impacts, political challenges, and policy innovations.
