Extreme Engineer of the Month

Profile: Steve Howard, P.E., Coastal Engineer, Olsen Associates

The surf’s almost always up for coastal engineers—the other side of ocean engineering. In addition to the focus on offshore, ocean engineering also encompasses coastal engineering, a specialty concentrating on the physical processes ongoing at the shoreline and construction within the coastal zone. The field involves aspects of nearshore oceanography, marine geology, and civil engineering, often directed at combating erosion of coasts or providing navigational access.

Steve started thinking about what he wanted to major in when he was a junior in high school. He liked science and math and always had an affinity for the ocean, but didn’t think there was a big job market for marine biologists. So he decided on engineering. When he ran across ocean engineering, he knew it was the perfect marriage of the passions in his life. While ocean engineering is under the civil engineering program in most universities, it’s a hybrid discipline—encompassing elements of civil, mechanical, computer engineering, and even some industrial engineering. Fluid dynamics was one of Steve’s favorite classes.

After getting his undergraduate degree, Steve went to work in naval architecture designing installations for offshore oil platforms. It wasn’t quite the right fit for him, so he decided to pursue a graduate degree in coastal engineering. The program included intensive wave dynamics, physical and numerical modeling and focused on specific topics within the field such as sediment transport and ports and harbors.

After completing his graduate degree, Steve went to work for Olsen Associates, a consulting coastal engineering firm that specializes in beach restoration and coastal structure work all over the world. Steve says the best thing about working at a small engineering firm is that he gets to be involved with many different aspects of engineering projects. He’s worked on large federal beach nourishment projects in Florida, smaller beach projects across the Southeastern U.S. and the Bahamas, and a lot of high end resort work as far away as Dubai and the Maldives, an island nation off the tip of India.

Among the most interesting projects he’s worked on was one in the Maldives. A private resort had purchased an island and, via dredging, had changed the shape of the island into something that was not compatible with the oceanographic environment. The resort had changed the island from its natural elliptical shape to an irregular shape with lots of deep bays. While the changed shape was aesthetically appealing and provided many interesting beaches, the strong waves and currents in the area caused coastal erosion, and many of the villas were in danger of falling into the water. Steve’s company was hired to stabilize the beaches and improve water quality in the bays. During the two weeks he was there, Steve and a partner not only designed more than 34 coastal structures to stabilize 18 beaches but they also recommended the island be cut in half and separated by a channel in order to improve poor water quality in two adjacent bays. Because of the resort location, the aesthetics of the structures were particularly important. “It’s as much art as science,” says Steve. “You not only have to get them [structures] to work right, they have to look right, too. If they’re ugly they won’t serve the purpose any more than if they didn’t work,” he says.

Right now, he’s developing a numerical model to do a flushing analysis for a proposed marina on a private island in the Bahamas. Construction of this marina involves physically cutting a channel and yacht basin into the middle of the island. To get the environmental permit, Steve relies on numerical models such as this to predict the flushing characteristics and resulting water quality in and around the constructed basin.

Steve’s work has taken him all over the world. In the Caribbean, he’s worked on projects throughout the Bahamas. He has also traveled to Dubai, where he was involved in the first Palm Project. The current trend in Dubai is to dredge up sand and build large private islands for private homes and resorts. Several of the man-made islands are shaped like palm trees. One is shaped like a map of the world. The designs are visible in satellite photos. Steve’s firm represents one of the property owners and conducted wave overtopping studies, designed a recreational beach along the property, and did some conceptual pier and marina designs.

Other types of projects typical for coastal engineering include:

• Coral reef restoration
• Dredging and channel widening for commercial ports
• Dune restoration to guard against wave overtopping
• Wetlands restoration
• Beach fortification to prepare for the upcoming storm season
• Statistical and numerical analysis of waves and storms
• Construction of artificial surfing reefs

“I was lucky enough to be able to marry up a passion for the surf zone and a passion for math and science, it’s a pretty good job,” Steve said. “Most of the people in our office are surfers and divers. When we go on vacation, most of the time we’re going to a beach—despite the fact that that’s where we work. It’s a real love.”