Ocean Eng. Program

Center for Dredging Studies

OCEAN ENGINEERING
Coastal and Ocean Engineering Division
Department of Civil Engineering Texas A&M University

LOCATION:
Texas A&M University is the oldest public institution of higher learning in the state of Texas with an enrollment of approximately 43,000. Located on more than 5,000 acres in the university town of College Station, its main campus is within easy reach of the state's major cities -Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, and Fort Worth. Tuition, fees, and cost of living compare favorably with other major universities in the United States. The College of Engineering at Texas A&M has one of the largest student populations in the nation. Approximately 1,550 students are enrolled in the Department of Civil Engineering, including 360 graduate students. The Ocean Engineering Program has approximately 100 undergraduate students and 40 graduate students.

INTRODUCTION
Ocean engineering is the application of basic engineering principles to the analysis, design, construction, and management of systems that operate in the ocean environment. Typical ocean engineering application areas include: beach protection and nourishment, coastal structures, coastal erosion, development of ocean energy resources, instrumentation for coastal and offshore measurements, marine dredging and dredged material placement, moored and towed systems, ocean mining, offshore petroleum recovery, offshore structures, ports and harbors, search and salvage, suspended and dissolved constituent transport, subsea pipelines and cables, submersible vehicles, and underwater acoustics. Employment opportunities exist with private industry, defense contractors, consulting firms, and government agencies. Ocean engineering students are encouraged to pursue summer internships and may participate in the university cooperative education program. The curriculum leading to a Bachelor of Science degree in ocean engineering is administered by the Coastal and Ocean Engineering Division of the Department of Civil Engineering and is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.

MISSION
The mission of the Ocean Engineering Program is to conduct research, serve the public, and educate students in a broad program of instruction encompassing traditional and emerging areas of ocean engineering. Graduates are prepared for entering engineering practice, continuing onto graduate study, life-long learning, and professional development. Students develop a sense of professionalism and an appreciation for the obligations of a professional engineer. The Program offers ocean engineering continuing education activities for the people and marine industry of the state, nation and international community. The Program serves the public and engineering profession in Texas and the nation through participation of faculty and students in public and professional activities. Applied and fundamental research is conducted that contributes to the better understanding of ocean engineering and supports student educational development.

OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the Ocean Engineering Program are to graduate students that are qualified to contribute to the ocean engineering profession and society, gain employment in ocean engineering and related engineering fields with private and government organizations, and advance to positions of increased responsibility. Some graduates become professional engineers and members of ocean engineering related professional societies, pursue company training and continuing education activities, and attend technical conferences. Some graduates pursue graduate studies in ocean engineering and related fields and receive post baccalaureate degrees.

CURRICULUM
The ocean engineering curriculum includes courses in written communication skills, humanities, social sciences, and American heritage to ensure a well-rounded education. Courses that directly apply to ocean engineering include: coastal engineering, dynamics of ocean systems, engineering design of offshore and coastal systems, fluid mechanics, marine hydrodynamics, naval architecture, numerical methods, ocean engineering laboratory, ocean wave mechanics, oceanography, offshore and coastal structures, underwater acoustics, and underwater and moored system design.

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LABORATORY FACILITIES
The laboratory facilities for the Ocean Engineering Program are among the most comprehensive in the nation for testing offshore and coastal systems. The facilities are located in the Reta and Bill Haynes ‘46 Coastal Engineering Laboratory, Offshore Technology Research Center, Civil Engineering Laboratory Building, and the Hydromechanics Laboratory. These facilities include a large deep water wave basin, two towing tanks, three wave channels, a variable slope flume, dredge pump test loop, two shallow water wave basins, and data acquisition systems. Additional information is available on the web site http:\\edge.tamu.edu.

                       

Click here for more information on the facilities.

The Texas A&M University System also has campuses at Galveston and Corpus Christi which provide avenues of field research opportunities. These campuses have their own faculty and students with a host of equipment for field experiments. This provides an excellent opportunity for cross-fertilization of ocean engineering students who choose to focus on field research.

Students also have access to extensive computer equipment from PCs to workstations to Supercomputers.

CENTERS:
Offshore Technology Research Center
The Offshore Technology Research Center is a joint venture between the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University. It was founded in 1988 to undertake basic engineering research in support of economical resource development in deep offshore waters. Research is performed in three major research thrust areas: Fluid/Structure Interactions, Materials/Structural Integrity, and Seafloor/Foundation Engineering.

One of the primary missions of the Offshore Technology Research Center is to provide a strong educational program related to offshore technology, including the allied branches of science and engineering. The Center is committed to providing students with cross-disciplinary team research experience, industrial interaction, and an integrated engineering systems approach to the field of offshore technology. These educational goals are accomplished through active student involvement in the research programs of the Center, enhancement of the instructional program, the development of instructional materials, and a broad educational outreach program.

The Center for Dredging Studies
The Center for Dredging Studies was established in 1968 as a result of conferences held between educators, representatives of the dredging industry, manufacturers, and officials at Texas A&M University. The Center is part of the Department of Civil Engineering and the Texas Engineering Experiment Station and is supported by gifts and research grants from the dredging industry and the government. In addition to research and industrial testing, the Center's activities include teaching university courses and providing annual seminars and short courses concerning advances in dredging engineering technology.

WES Graduate Institute
The Ocean Engineering Program is a partner with the Waterways Experiment Station Graduate Institute with approximately six students from the Corps of Engineers attending the program every two years. These students study at Texas A&M and at WES and receive their graduate degree from the Ocean Engineering Program. About four or five visiting faculty are appointed from WES each year.

Center for Texas Shores and Beaches
Established by the State Legislature in 1993 in recognition of the state's eroding shoreline, the Center focuses research on the erosion problem. The Center is an entity consisting of the capabilities at Galveston, Corpus Christi, and College Station

TYPICAL RESEARCH:                                       

EMERITUS FACULTY:
John B. Herbich, Professor Emeritus
John E. Flipse, Distinguished Professor Emeritus

FACULTY ASSOCIATES:
Nicholas Kraus, Director, Conrad Blucher Institute and Professor of Physics, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Jose Rosett, Professor of Civil Engineering
Robert Reid, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Oceanography

ADMISSION TO GRADUATE STUDIES:
To be admitted without prerequisite work, an applicant must 1) hold a baccalaureate degree in an approved engineering discipline, 2) show ability to pursue advanced study, 3) achieve acceptable scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), and 4) attain an acceptable score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:
Financial assistance is available to qualified graduate students in the form of teaching or research assistantships, scholarships, and fellowships. Holders of assistantships and most scholarships and fellowships pay in-state tuition and fees. Stipends depend on the applicants' qualifications, including their level of graduate course work.

INFORMATION:
For additional information and application to graduate studies (including financial assistance): Head, Ocean Engineering Program Coastal and Ocean Engineering Division, Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, Phone: (409) 845-4515 FAX: (409) 862-1542.

For a copy of the Texas A&M University Graduate Catalog write to: Texas A&M Bookstore, Drawer B-9, University Center, College Station, TX 77844.

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