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
Nationally renowned river ecologist named new director of ByWater Institute
John Sabo, a leading scholar on water resources and river ecology, has been hired as the new director of the Tulane ByWater Institute.
Sabo’s appointment is effective Aug. 1, 2021 when, in addition to leading the ByWater Institute, he will be a full professor in the Department of River-Coastal Science and Engineering.
Tulane alumni couple’s $2 million gift will target climate change, coastal issues via two professorships, symposia
Haunted by memories of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation, an alumni couple with deep ties to Tulane and New Orleans has made a $2 million gift to the university that aims to pack a one-two punch against climate change and coastal erosion. David and Jane Flowerree have established two professorships aimed at finding solutions to the environmental crisis facing Louisiana and other areas threatened by rising seas, warming temperatures, and weather-driven disasters.
Masked and Online, Second Group Receives River Science and Engineering Certificate
Though delayed due to COVID-19, the next group of students who completed the River Science and Engineering Graduate Certificate gathered to receive their certificates by Zoom, and joined students and faculty from New Orleans and Baton Rouge, LA, Vicksburg, MS, Louisville, KY and St. Paul, MN. The celebration was led by Dr. Kimberly Foster, Dean of the Tulane School of Science and Engineering and Dr.
Tulane’s River-Coastal Science and Engineering Department receives $3 million gift
Tulane University’s School of Science and Engineering (SSE) has received a $2 million gift to establish and endow the Charlotte Beyer Hubbell Chair in River-Coastal Science and Engineering. Hubbell has also contributed $1 million to create the River-Coastal Science and Engineering Excellence Fund.
The Charlotte Beyer Hubbell Chair in River-Coastal Science and Engineering will fund salary and other expenses directly associated with the chairholder's academic work, research, travel, hiring postdoctoral students or supporting graduate students.
Tulane study calls for alternatives to Bonnet Carré Spillway to improve river management
In response to an unprecedented four openings of the Bonnet Carré Spillway in the last five years and with the possibility of more climate-driven river floods, a new Tulane University study has demonstrated the efficacy of upper river diversions as a means to improve river management and reduce the volume of water flowing through the spillway.
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.
