Ocean Engineering Master's Degree

Premiere Ocean Engineering University

With its world-renowned faculty and research facilities, and strategic placement along the busy NY/NJ port system, Stevens is the region's premiere university for engineering studies related to maritime technology and coastal processes. Strategic initiatives and partnerships nationwide supply graduate students with a wealth of opportunities in oceanography, maritime administration, naval architecture, and environmental studies related to our waterways and coastal environments.

DUCKS: An Innovative Research Vessel

Above, Research Assistant Professor Jon Miller stands next to DUCKS: The Dynamic Underwater Coastal Kinematic Surveying System. Scientists at the Center for Maritime Systems have converted this recreational vehicle into a research vessel used to map the floor in shallow or busy bodies of water, such as reservoirs and active ports. Stevens faculty and graduate students are using DUCKS to gather data on sea floor erosion at New Jersey beaches to study the effectiveness of experimental anti-erosion methods.

Dr. Jon Miller explains using a jet ski to monitor water conditions.

Research in Focus

Water Resources, Air Quality, and Transportation Security

Dr. Alan Blumberg is the Director of the Center for Maritime Systems, a world renowned oceanographer, and innovator of predictive modeling and ocean physics. CMS combines the research efforts of Davidson Laboratory, the Marine Observation and Prediction Laboratory, the Coastal Engineering Research Laboratory, and the Maritime Security Laboratory into an integrated perspective on some of the most important issues facing engineers today. Dr. Blumberg has made several media and television appearances, received multi-year funding and grant awards, gained membership with professional societies such the American Meteorological Society, American Geophysical Union, American Society of Civil Engineering, Estuarine Research Federation, and Oceanography Society, and been elected a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Dr. Blumberg is also the founder of the New York Harbor Observing and Prediction System, which was established to permit an assessment of ocean, weather, environmental, and vessel traffic conditions throughout the New York Harbor region. His research has contributed to understanding the physical dynamics of estuarine and coastal ocean circulation, and to the creation of ocean observing and forecasting systems which are used for environmental studies, surface vessel operations, and as a basis for maritime security. General numerical models have been developed such as the Princeton Ocean Model and its shallow water derivative, the Estuarine and Coastal Ocean Model - which are now adapted by over 3,000 research groups throughout the world. Although an extremely respected and sought after maritime researcher, Dr. Blumberg remains passionate about teaching and developing Stevens gifted graduate students in Ocean Engineering. The nationally-recognized research centers under his authority give students hands-on opportunities to shape and influence the future of oceanography and maritime studies. Students work with Stevens faculty to tackle major challenges in our environment, industrial processes, and the daily lives of people living in the New York City area.

Naval Design and Port Security

Dr. Raju Datla's research analyzes experimental marine hydrodynamics, vessel wakes, computational fluid dynamic aspects of marine hydrodynamics, and ocean waves and turbulence. Dr. Datla oversaw several key expansions to Davidson Laboratory, such as the new towing Tank #3. Everything from the design of the tank to the installation of the wave maker and beach structures were redone, making it the most advanced tank of its kind in the United States. For decades, Davidson Labs has served the U.S. Navy, NASA, and private companies in their study of ocean phenomena at scale to test the safety and design of the latest seafaring and aerospace equipment. Dr. Datla is a lead researcher for ACCeSS, the Atlantic Center for the Innovative Design and Control of Small Ships, and has served for The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers as Chair of its Planning Craft Committee, a group that conducts reviews of state-of-the-art technology, advises the larger design community as to future research needs, and awards research funding to universities. He is a member of Sigma Xi, the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, and the American Geophysical Union.

Hydrodynamics, Vehicle Design, and Military Defense

Dr. Len Imas analyses numerical hydrodynamics and the application of CFD in design. He is currently involved in research activities involving hydrodynamics of underwater swimmers, interaction of high-speed vessel wakes in a confined seaway, and hydro-mechanics of remotely-operated underwater vehicles in estuary environments. He also studies contact line models and dynamics for bow-wave flows, free-surface LES, development of SPH algorithms for modeling of breaking waves and free-surface phenomena involving surface-piercing bodies, modeling of supercavitation physics with applications to underwater vehicles, missile aerodynamics, FSI involving vortex-induced vibrations of bluff bodies, and aero-hydrodynamics of high-performance sailing yachts. He is part of a recent group that received funding from the Northrop Group to support its work on DARPA's Underwater Express Program, which will advance critical technology issues associated with the physics of supercavitation and culminate with a significant scale demonstration proving that a supercavitating underwater craft is controllable at speeds up to 100 knots. Dr. Imas is also an integral part of the ACCeSS research center. In addition to his research, Dr. Imas is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME), Tau Beta Pi (National Engineering Honor Society), and Sigma Gamma Tau (National Aeronautical Engineering Honor Society).

Environmental Health and National Security

CMS was instrumental in supporting the Department of Homeland Security's Urban Dispersion Program, which monitored traceable gases released into the atmosphere over New York City. Stevens researchers deployed a radar wind profiler and launched weather balloons that transmitted data back to computers on campus. The weather balloons carried small instrument packages to measure temperature, humidity, wind, and pressure over the city. After coordinating clearance with the FAA and local airports, students launched balloons that floated freely upwards, reaching altitudes up to 10 km. Efforts like the Urban Dispersion Program demonstrates the Stevens community's ability to integrate multiple disciplines to meet focused research objectives that improve our understanding of the atmosphere and ensure the safety of U.S. citizens.

Acoustics Underwater and Beyond

Conducting both theoretical and experimental research, Dr. Alexander Sutin studies physical and nonlinear acoustics, underwater acoustics and acoustical oceanography, interaction of acoustic waves with cracks and damage, applications of nonlinear acoustics to nondestructive evaluation, nondestructive evaluation, land mine detection, and passive acoustic diver detection. Dr. Sutin is an innovator of a new technology known as time-reversal acoustics. The technology promises a wide array of applications, including in medicine for ultra-precise medical imaging, diagnostic techniques using ultrasound, incision-free surgical techniques, and even the potential for a method of recharging the batteries of implanted devices like pacemakers without performing surgery.

Access to National Leaders in Ocean Engineering

Stevens Ocean Engineering faculty have been appointed to high positions in serving the public interests through technical representation in and consultation to goverment. Dr. Michael Bruno presently serves as Chair of the National Research Council Marine Board. Dr. Thomas Herrington, an Assistant Director of CMS, is Director of the state-sponsored New Jersey Coastal Protection Technical Assistance Service. CMS Director Dr. Alan Blumberg is an American Society of Civil Engineers Fellow and has served on the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board. Deputy Director of CMS Dr. Thomas Wakeman has served critical roles directing programs for the Port Authority of New York ansd New Jersey and advising the Coalition Provisional Authority and Iraqi Minister of Transportation on maritime issues, and he sits on the board of the New Jersey Sea Grant College Program.