Research & Innovation

Jon Miller Receives $284,466 Grant to Study Living Shore

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Photo of students at Gandy's Beach
Miller and former students – Andrew Rella (BE’ 09, ME’ 10, Ph.D. ’14), Matthew Janssen (ME ’16, Ph.D. ’22), and Katlin Walling (BE ’13, ME ’15) getting their hands – and everything else – dirty installing a living shoreline project at Gandy's Beach, NJ.

Miller’s research aims to protect shorelines under the threat of sea level rise

Jon Miller, research associate professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering, recently received a grant of $284,466 from the U.S. Coastal Research Program for his project “Evaluating the Influence of Water Level on Wave Attenuation of Natural and Nature Based Features in Low‐High Energy Environments.”

Jon MillerJon Miller

In this project, Miller and his students, including Amy Bredes, Ph.D., will exploit the unique characteristics of several recently constructed wave attenuating living shoreline or Natural and Nature Based Feature (NNBF) projects in New Jersey, to further our understanding of the influence of water level (including sea level rise) and structure composition, among other measurements, on nearshore hydrodynamics and marsh edge erosion.

Miller proposes that the influence of water level on wave attenuation and ultimately marsh edge erosion is more complex than would be predicted by simple submerged breakwater relationships, due to the nature of the structures themselves and the proximity of the structures to shore and each other. With this research he hopes to provide valuable information that can be used to improve the design of future projects.

Miller said, “The proposed research will improve our understanding of how living shoreline projects perform now and in the future under the threat of sea level rise. Ultimately, the research aims to lead to improved design recommendations to ensure the long-term viability of these projects.”