The Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering Department promotes the use of engineering approaches to create solutions for societal needs concerning the built and natural environment by: providing a high quality, broad-based undergraduate education that emphasizes both fundamental knowledge and design experiences for its students; developing new knowledge through cutting-edge and applied research; providing services and leadership to the public and the profession; integrating research knowledge and professional service experience into innovative undergraduate and graduate instruction; and by fostering in our students a culture of lifelong personal and professional growth.

The department has three programs towards the degree of bachelor of engineering (B.E.): civil engineering, environmental engineering, and naval engineering. In addition, there are several minors offered to engineering students in other majors. The individual B.E. programs are described below. The following requirements are common to all three:

Bachelor of Engineering Graduation Requirements
The following are requirements for graduation of all engineering students and are not included for academic credit. They will appear on the student record as pass/fail.

Physical Education Requirement for Engineering and Science Undergraduates (Class of 2012 and later)
All engineering and science students must complete a minimum of four semester credits of Physical Education (P.E.) one of which is P.E. 100 Introduction to Wellness and Physical Education.  A large number of activities are offered in lifetime, team, and wellness areas.  Students must complete PE 100 in their first or second semester at Stevens; the other three courses must be completed by the end of the sixth semester.  Students can enroll in more than the minimum required P.E. for graduation and are encouraged to do so.

Participation in varsity sports can be used to satisfy up to three credits of the P.E. requirement, but not P.E. 100.

Participation in supervised, competitive club sports can be used to satisfy up to two credits of the P.E. requirement, but not the P.E. 100 requirement, with approval from the P.E. Coordinator.

English Language Proficiency
All students must satisfy an English Language proficiency requirement.

PLEASE NOTE: A comprehensive Communications Program will be implemented for the Class of 2009. This may influence how the English Language Proficiency requirement is met. Details will be added when available.

Civil engineering is concerned with constructed facilities, including structures, foundations, environmental and transportation systems, waterways, ports, irrigation, drainage, and water supply and treatment. The civil engineer's vital role is to plan, design, and supervise the construction of these facilities. Civil engineering is one of the most publicly-visible technical fields. It shares the distinction, with military engineering, of being the earliest of the engineering disciplines. Other branches of engineering emerged as technical knowledge became more specialized. Civil engineering not only retains a strong relationship with the other branches, but continues to generate new areas of technology. The basic theories of structural analysis, which are the concern of civil engineers, are expressed in every machine and aircraft, and in buildings and other constructed facilities. The study of mechanics is basic to the field of civil engineering. A thorough foundation in science and mathematics is necessary for the application of basic scientific principles to the design of structures and fluid systems. Computer methods are integrated throughout the civil engineering elective offerings. Graduates of the Stevens program meet the demands for positions of responsibility in various sub-disciplines of civil engineering and contribute to the advancement of the civil engineering practice. Prospective employers include industrial firms, consulting engineering firms, and construction contractors, as well as various government agencies. Our undergraduate offerings include subjects basic to all civil engineering.

The mission of the civil engineering program at Stevens is to educate a new generation of civil engineers who are leaders in the profession. The educational program emphasizes professional practice, entrepreneurship, leadership, lifelong learning, and civic contribution. The program of study combines a broad-based core engineering curriculum, and a substantial experience in the humanities and in business engineering management, with specialization in civil engineering. Within the sequence of civil engineering courses, students have the flexibility to concentrate in structural, geotechnical, water resources and environmental engineering, or construction management.

The objectives of the civil engineering program are provided in terms of our expectations for our graduates. Within several years of graduation, they will:

• Establish a distinctive record of achievements within the profession and will have become a licensed Professional Engineer;
• Be thoroughly aware and knowledgeable in dealing with environmental, social, ethical, and economic impacts of their projects;
• Augment their knowledge through professional and cultural continuing education;
• Be active in leadership roles within their professional and technical societies;
• Be innovative and creative in conceiving, designing, and constructing a broad range of projects;
• Continue to demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit in all their activities; and
• Actively support and advance the educational programs at Stevens Institute of Technology.

Environmental engineering has traditionally been taught as a branch of civil engineering concerned with the supply of safe drinking water and the sanitary disposal of municipal wastes. The field has expanded in recent years to include many new areas, such as the treatment of industrial and hazardous wastes, the prediction of the fate and transport of pollutants in the environment, and the design of systems for remediation of sites contaminated with hazardous wastes. This has placed new demands on engineers to understand the fundamental environmental transformation processes that describe natural and engineered systems.

The mission of the environmental engineering program is to provide a broad-based education that prepares students in the technical and social fundamentals that will enable them to have a wide impact in the improvement of interactions between humans and their environment.

The objectives of the program are aligned with these expectations for our graduates:

• They will be recognized as being among “the best in the business” by their peers.
• They possess the fundamental understanding of environmental processes that enables them to contribute to any specialty area of environmental engineering.
• They use their knowledge of the design process, reaction mechanisms, and materials balance methods to create innovative solutions to environmental problems.
• They demonstrate exemplary sensitivity to social factors including the historical, legal, political, policy, economic, ethical, and public-relations aspects of environmental problems.
• They solve environmental problems using a systems approach, incorporating interactions with natural, engineered, and social components.
• They address the wider aspects of environmental problems such as sustainability, design for the environment, pollution prevention, and industrial ecology.

Naval Engineering is a broad-based engineering discipline that involves the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of surface and sub-surface ships, ocean structures, and shore facilities. Although these vessels and facilities are traditionally employed in the defense of the nation, many are also employed in the support of the civilian (commercial) Marine Transportation System. Because of the complexities of today’s naval and civilian vessels and supporting infrastructure, the Naval Engineer must possess a strong background in the physical sciences, mathematics, and modeling, as well as the more specialized fields of naval architecture, marine engineering, systems engineering, and environmental engineering.

The mission of the naval engineering program at Stevens is to develop innovative engineers capable of international leadership in the profession. The educational program emphasizes design innovation, trans-disciplinary study, a systems perspective on complex ship and infrastructure designs, lifelong learning, and opportunities for international study and internships. As is the case for the other Stevens engineering programs, the naval engineering program includes a broad-based core engineering curriculum and a substantial experience in the humanities.

The program is conducted in concert with the Stevens leadership in the Office of Naval Research–sponsored Atlantic Center for the Innovative Design and Control of Small Ships and in collaboration with University College London.

The objectives of the naval engineering program are provided in terms of our expectations for our graduates. Within several years of graduation, they will:

• Be recognized as among the most innovative designers and project managers in the world;
• Be thoroughly aware of, and knowledgeable in dealing with, environmental, social, ethical, and economic impacts of their projects;
• Augment their knowledge through professional and cultural continuing education; and
• Be active in leadership roles within their professional and technical societies.

Students may qualify for minors in structural engineering, coastal engineering, water resources, or environmental engineering by taking the required courses indicated below. Completion of a minor indicates a proficiency beyond that provided by the Stevens engineering curriculum in the basic material of the selected area. The minor program must be in a discipline other than that of a student’s major program of study, and at least two courses in the minor must be overload courses, beyond the credit requirements for all other programs being pursued by the student.

Structural Engineering

A minimum of six of courses must be selected from the following:

CE 373 Structural Analysis

One or both of the following two courses:

CE 484 Concrete Structures or
CE 486 Structural Steel Design
CE 519 Advanced Structures
CE 681 Finite Elements

And one or two of the following:

CE 579 Advanced Reinforced Concrete Structures
CE 623 Structural Dynamics
CE 660 Advanced Steel Structures

Water Resources

CE 304 Water Resources Engineering
CE 342 Fluid Mechanics
CE 525 Engineering Hydrology or
CE 535 Stormwater Management
CE 578 Coastal and Floodplain Engineering
CE 685 Advanced Hydraulics
EN 686 Groundwater Hydrology and Pollution

CE 304 Water Resources Engineering
CE 342 Fluid Mechanics
OE 501 Oceanography
OE 589 Coastal Engineering
OE 535 Ocean Measurements and Analysis
CE 578 Coastal and Floodplain Engineering

ChE 210  Process Analysis
CE 342    Fluid Mechanics
EN 375    Environmental Systems

And any three of the following courses:  

EN 570 Environmental Chemistry
EN 541 Fate and Transport of Envir. Contaminants
EN 571 Physicochemical Processes for Envir. Control
EN 573 Biological Processes for Envir. Control

The goal of the graduate programs is to prepare students to be technical leaders in their field, including the ability to do original research. The department offers masters of engineering, masters of science, and doctoral degrees. The masters degrees may be with or without thesis. Major areas of current research in civil engineering include earthquake engineering, wind engineering, multi-scale modeling and stochastic mechanics, non-destructive evaluation and damage identification, bridge and infrastructure evaluation and design, soil-structure interactions, soil mechanics and deep foundation systems. In environmental engineering we have been studying advanced oxidation of hazardous wastes, statistical process control of wastewater treatment, stabilization/solidification of contaminated soil, and physicochemical treatment of heavy metal contaminated wastes. Our ocean engineering group conducts research on hydrodynamic modeling of currents and the dispersion of effluents in the coastal zone, experimental and computational marine hydrodynamics, coastal sediment transport, climate change, port security, coastal hazards, inland and coastal flooding, storm surges, maritime transportation, and analysis of current and wave observations in the coastal ocean.

An undergraduate degree in engineering or related disciplines with a "B" average from an accredited college or university is generally required for graduate study in civil, environmental, and ocean engineering. It is required that any applicants requesting assistantship appointments, and applicants to the Ph.D. program, provide GRE scores, as well as evidence of ability to carry out independent work. Examples of such evidence include a description of master’s degree thesis work and/or completed work-related projects. GRE scores are not otherwise required, but may be submitted in support of the application. International students must demonstrate their proficiency in the English language prior to admission by scoring at least 550 (213 computer-based) on the TOEFL examination. Applications for admission from qualified students are accepted at any time.

The Master of Engineering degree is offered with programs in civil, environmental, and ocean engineering, and a Master of Science is offered in Construction Management and Maritime Systems. The programs require 30 credit-hours of course work. A thesis is optional and may be substituted for five to ten credit-hours of course work. The thesis option is strongly recommended for full-time students, those receiving financial support, or those planning to pursue doctoral studies.

Concentrations are available in the areas of structural and geotechnical engineering. The student must complete core courses depending on the areas of concentration as follows:

Civil Engineering Concentrations

Structural Engineering

CE 519 Advanced Structural Analysis
CE 579 Advanced Reinforced Concrete Structures
CE 595 Geotechnical Design
CE 660 Advanced Steel Structures
CE 681 Finite Element Methods

Geotechnical/Geoenvironmental Engineering

CE 595 Geotechnical Design
CE 649 Earth Supporting Structures
EN 520 Soil Behavior and its Role in Environmental Applications
EN 654 Environmental Geotechnology
EN 686 Groundwater Hydrology and Pollution

Water Resources Engineering

CE 525 Engineering Hydrology
CE 535 Stormwater Management
CE 684 Mixing Processes in Inland and Coastal Waters
CE 685 Advanced Hydraulics
EN 686 Ground Water Hydrology and Pollution

Hydrologic Modeling

CE 526 Watershed Modeling
CE 651 Drainage Design and Modeling
CE 652 Hydrologic Modeling
EN 680 Modeling of Environmental Systems

Stormwater Management

CE 525 Engineering Hydrology
CE 535 Stormwater Management
CE 685 Advanced Hydraulics
CE 591/OE 591 Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology
CE 578 Coastal and Floodplain Engineering

Substitutions for core courses may be considered on a case-by-case basis in consultation with your advisor.

The Environmental Engineering graduate program is divided into three areas of concentration: Environmental Processes, Groundwater and Soil Pollution Control, and Inland and Coastal Environmental Hydrodynamics.

The Environmental Processes concentration addresses the treatment of industrial and domestic water and wastewater, and hazardous wastes. Process fundamentals are integrated with a design-based approach to meeting treatment objectives. Students will be prepared for careers in both design and operation of facilities for pollution control.

The Groundwater and Soil Pollution Control concentration emphasizes the transport and fate of contaminants in the subsurface environment and on engineering processes to mitigate their adverse environmental impact. Some specific areas of study in this option are the modeling of contaminant transport in local or regional geohydrologic systems, the impact of contamination in the subsurface environment, the management of municipal and industrial waste disposal, and the remediation of groundwater and soil.

The Inland and Coastal Environmental Hydrodynamics concentration addresses the circulation and mixing processes in surface waters and the effect of such processes on the fate and transport of contaminants. Deterministic, stochastic, and experimental techniques are emphasized.

Major areas of current faculty research include groundwater hydrology and pollution, water and wastewater treatment processes, design of waste disposal management, and environmental processes in coastal and estuarine waters. Master’s candidates without a previous engineering degree may, on a case-by-case basis, be allowed to enroll for the Master of Engineering in Environmental Engineering if they have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant science discipline. These students must also take CE 503, CE 504, and EN 505, or their equivalent, not for credit towards a degree. All applicants must have at least two years of calculus and one year of chemistry.

Core Courses:

CE 565 Numerical Methods for Civil and Environmental Engineering
EN 541 Fate and Transport of Environmental Contaminants
EN 570 Environmental Chemistry

Environmental Engineering Concentrations:

Environmental Control Processes

EN 570 Environmental Chemistry
EN 571 Physicochemical Processes for Environmental Control
EN 573 Biological Processes for Environmental Control
EN 575 Environmental Biology
EN 637 Environmental Control Laboratory
EN 751 Design of Wastewater Facilities

Groundwater and Soil Pollution Control

EN 520 Soil Behavior and its Role in Environmental Applications
EN 551 Environmental Chemistry of Soils
EN 553 Groundwater Engineering
EN 654 Environmental Geotechnology
EN 686 Groundwater Hydrology and Pollution
EN 690 Soil and Groundwater Remediation Technologies

Inland and Coastal Environmental Hydrodynamics

CE 525 Engineering Hydrology
OE 501 Oceanography
OE 616 Sediment Transport

The remaining courses are electives, which are selected in consultation with the academic advisor. Electives may be concentrated in specific areas, such as:

Modeling of Environmental Processes

CE 679 Regression and Stochastic Methods
CE 684 Mixing Processes in Inland and Coastal Waters
EN 680 Modeling of Environmental Systems
EN 780 Nonlinear Correlation and System Identification

Water Resources

CE 535 Stormwater Management
CE 685 Advanced Hydraulics

Air Pollution Control

EN 505 Air Pollution Principles and Control
EN 550 Environmental Chemistry of Atmospheric Processes
OE 591 Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology

Environmental Sustainability

EN 545 Environmental Impact Analysis and Planning
EN 547 Project Life Cycle Analysis
EN 548 Environmental Compatibility in Design and Manufacturing

Hazardous Waste Management

EN 549 Environmental Risk Assessment and Management
EN 586 Hazardous Waste Management
EN 587 Environmental Law and Management
EN 618 HAZMAT Spill Response Planning

Advanced courses in the Ocean Engineering graduate program reflect the research interests of the faculty and cover topics in coastal engineering, sediment transport, mixing processes in coastal and estuarine waters, environmental fluid mechanics, estuarine and coastal ocean modeling, motion of vessels in waves, underwater acoustics, and marine meteorology. Basic areas of study encompass oceanography, hydrodynamics, and naval architecture. The master’s degree program requires a minimum of two graduate-level applied mathematics courses and satisfaction of the following distributional requirements:

• A student must take at least one course in each of the three basic areas of study.
• The student must take at least one advanced course in ocean engineering subject areas outside his/her area of concentration.
• A typical selection of courses for the master’s degree without a thesis in ocean engineering for a student with a concentration, for example, in coastal engineering would encompass the following:
  • The applied mathematics requirement would be met by taking: MA 529 and MA 530.
  • The basic courses in hydrodynamics, oceanography, and naval architecture could be satisfied with one of the following: OE 630, OE 501, and OE 525.
  • The concentration in coastal engineering could include the sequence of OE 641, OE 616, OE 589, and OE 635.
  • The remaining course could be one of the following, which are in subject areas outside of coastal engineering: CE 684, OE 539, or OE 642.

The Construction Management curriculum offers an excellent opportunity for the construction professional and the engineering manager to direct construction firms and projects in an effective, efficient, and professional manner, while dealing with the delicate environmental issues of today’s complex marketplace. The program consists of five core and five elective courses of a practical nature, including those dealing with financial, legal, safety, and administrative aspects relevant to the construction industry. Theory is integrated into realistic problems that arise within today’s competitive construction arena. The program has been designed with flexibility so that the student’s interest in a special area can be satisfied. An undergraduate degree in engineering or related disciplines from a recognized school is a prerequisite for graduate study in construction management.

Core Courses

CM 509 Construction Cost Analysis and Estimating
CM 541 Project Management for Construction
CM 550 Construction Contract Law I
CM 571 Practicum in Construction Management
CM 580 Construction Management I

The Master of Science degree program in Maritime Systems provides advanced instruction in the various disciplines associated with maritime ports and ocean and inland waterway transportation systems. This instruction is delivered in a framework that encourages the use of technology to address the social, environmental, and economic issues related to maritime systems. In recognition of the diverse skills required in today’s port and marine transportation industries, the program combines a multidisciplinary core curriculum with an array of specialized tracks that provide disciplinary focus.

The Maritime Systems program combines a multidisciplinary core curriculum with an array of specialized tracks that provide disciplinary focus. All students in the program must complete ten courses comprised of five core courses and five elective courses selected from one of the four engineering and management tracks listed below. The student, with the approval of the program director, may design a customized track. Up to six elective credits may be taken in lieu of course credits towards a project relevant to the selected track.

The program encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds, including (but not limited to) engineering, ocean sciences, environmental science, and management. Applicants may need to complete prerequisite courses. The specific requirements will be determined by a faculty advisor on an individual basis, depending on the student’s educational background and work experience.

Each student will meet with his/her faculty advisor to devise a study plan that matches the student’s background, experience, and interests, while also satisfying the formal coursework requirements for the master’s degree.

Core Courses

OE 501 Oceanography
OE 505 Introduction to Maritime Systems
OE 610 Marine Transportation
OE 612 Environmental Issues in Maritime Systems
OE 614 Economic Issues in Maritime Systems

There are four tracks offering areas of concentration within the Masters of Maritime Systems: environmental engineering, structural engineering, management, and marine transportation.

Environmental Engineering Track
Program Directors - Professors Christos Christodoulatos and Xiaoguang Meng.

This concentration offers engineering and environmental professionals the opportunity to pursue advanced study of the environmental issues facing the marine transportation community. Because of the wide range of activities associated with maritime systems, and the fact that most of these activities take place in environmentally-sensitive areas, the instruction is broad-based and addresses the impact of the activities on marine/freshwater, sediment, and groundwater resources. Students acquire the skills to address complex engineering problems associated with pollution prevention, waste management, and environmental compatibility in design, construction, maintenance, and operations.

CM 587/EN 587 Environmental Law and Management
EN 545 Environmental Impact Analysis and Planning
EN 549 Environmental Risk Assessment and Management
OE 618/EN 618 HAZMAT Spill Response Planning
CE 684 Mixing Processes in Inland and Coastal Waters

Structural Engineering Track
Program Directors - Professors Michael Bruno and Yusuf Billah

This concentration provides knowledge of the specific structure types and design analyses associated with port systems. Students are given instruction in the various design and maintenance considerations unique to the marine and inland waterway environments. Students acquire skill in using state-of-the-art design tools, including computer and physical models of maritime structures. The Davidson Laboratory’s internationally-known wave and towing tank facilities are utilized in the delivery of this instruction.

OE 622 Design of Port Structures I
OE 623 Design of Port Structures II
OE 589 Coastal Engineering
MT 533 Environmental Degradation of Materials or
CE 530 Nondestructive Evaluation of Structures
CE 519 Advanced Structural Analysis or
CE 681 Introduction to Finite Element Methods

Management Track
Program Director - Professor Leon Bazil

This concentration provides instruction in key management areas associated with port and marine transportation industries. Students acquire knowledge of the complex global economic environment in which today’s port operators and shippers must compete. Experienced management professionals provide relevant analysis tools and management strategies.

MGT 550 Project Management
MGT 612 The Human Side of Project Leadership
MGT 680 Organizational Behavior and Theory
MGT 657 Operations Management
MGT 650 International Business Management or
MGT 641 Marketing Management

Marine Transportation Track
Program Directors - Professors Raju Datla and Michael Bruno

This concentration provides instruction in an array of knowledge areas relevant to safe and effective waterborne transport, a key focus of Stevens’ Davidson Laboratory since its founding in 1935. The Laboratory’s physical modeling facilities, including the high-speed towing tank and the maneuvering basin, are employed in course instruction.

OE 525 Principles of Naval Architecture
OE 626 Port Planning and Development
OE 628 Maritime Safety
OE 642 Motion of Vessels in Waves
OE 643 Stability and Control of Marine Craft

The program leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree is designed to develop the student's capability to perform research or high-level design in civil, environmental, or ocean engineering. Admission to the doctoral program is made through the departmental graduate admissions committee, based on review of the applicant's scholastic record. A master’s degree is required before a student is admitted to the doctoral program. One's master’s level academic performance must reflect your capability to pursue advanced studies and perform independent research.

Ninety credits of graduate work in an approved program of study beyond the bachelor’s degree are required for completion of the doctoral program. Up to 30 credits obtained in a master’s program can be included in this program. Of the remaining 60 credits, 15 to 30 credit hours of course work, as well as 30 to 45 credit hours of dissertation work, are required. Within two years from the time of admission, a student must take a qualifying examination that tests his/her basic knowledge and ability to critically analyze the research literature. Upon satisfactory performance in the qualifying examination, and completion of the required course work, (s)he must take an oral preliminary examination. This examination is primarily intended to evaluate the student's aptitude for advanced research and examine his/her understanding of the subjects associated specifically with the dissertation topics. Upon satisfactory completion of the preliminary examination and all course work, a student will become a doctoral candidate and start his/her dissertation research. Doctoral research work must be based on an original investigation and the results must make a significant, state-of-the-art contribution to the field, and must be worthy of publication in current professional literature. At the completion of the research, a student must defend his/her thesis in a public presentation.

The Civil Engineer Degree is an advanced graduate program with an emphasis on design. To be qualified to enter the civil engineer degree program, a student must have completed a master’s degree in engineering. The degree candidate must also demonstrate professional competence by having at least two years of responsible industrial experience in one of the areas of civil engineering. The industrial experience is to be completed prior to entering the program or in the process of being satisfied upon entering the program. Thirty credits beyond the master’s degree are required for the degree of civil engineer. Eight to 15 of those credits must be on a design project. A student will be assigned an advisor who will help him/her develop a study plan and who will supervise his/her design project. The study plan, which should include details of the professional experience and of the design project, must be submitted to the departmental committee on the civil engineer degree for approval. Upon completion of the design project, (s)he will submit a written report to the departmental committee for approval, and the student will be required to take an oral examination on the substance of the design project.

The Keck Geoenvironmental Engineering Laboratory is a fully-equipped new facility for state-of-the-art computer automated geotechnical, as well as environmental, testing of soil and water media. Some of the major equipment available includes: X-ray diffraction capabilities for mineralogical characterizations; scanning electron microscope for surface morphological studies; zeta potential meter for solid surface charge analyses; integrated wet chemistry facilities to accommodate any type of physicochemical and environmental soil testing, such as particle and pore size distribution, surface area, cation exchange capacity, batch and sequential extraction, oxide content, consolidation, triaxial and direct shear strength testing, flexible and rigid wall permeameters, and CBRs; durability chambers for simulating environmental stresses, such as freeze and thaw, wetting and drying, salt fog and acid rain expo sure, as well as other accelerated weathering field conditions; and full sample collection and specimen preparation set-ups.

Some of our current studies involve: testing for the environmental and engineering properties of fly ash, incinerator ash, and other industrial waste-by-product materials to evaluate their use in construction applications; evaluate the properties of dredged materials for reuse in transportation projects; treatment and management of hazardous wastes, focusing on heavy metal and petroleum hydrocarbon immobilization in geoenvironments; study of the fate and transport of contaminants in the subsurface; surface enhancement of currently used industrial wastewater filtration media; development of leaching protocols; etc.

This state-of-the-art facility, administered by CEE, provides diversified research services for the development, testing, transfer, and implementation of innovative environmental technologies. It has multimedia capabilities for wastewater, liquid waste, solid waste, and air studies. Its role is to offer services to industry, government, and environmental professional organizations ranging from short duration, highly-specialized testing, to long-term applied research studies. JNEL’s capabilities cover a broad range, including waste stream characterization, process feasibility and waste minimization studies, regulatory acceptance testing for product certification, and environmental compatibility testing of new products.

The laboratory includes a large high-bay process testing laboratory for conducting process experiments and an analytical laboratory equipped with fully-automated instrumentation including gas chromatography/ion-trap mass spectroscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection, and atomic absorption spectrophotometry with both graphite furnace and flame capability.

The Center for Maritime Systems works to preserve and secure our nation’s maritime resources through collaborative knowledge development, innovation and invention, and education and training. This Center has become the world’s leader in delivering new knowledge, advanced technology, and education in support of the maritime community. It uniquely integrates the fields of naval architecture, coastal and ocean engineering, physical oceanography, and marine hydrodynamics to create a trans-disciplinary enterprise that can address both the highly-specialized issues confronting each discipline, as well as the more complex, integrated issues facing natural and man-made maritime systems. The inclusion of undergraduate and graduate students in this collaborative research endeavor continues the Stevens tradition of Technogenesis® - where students, faculty and industry jointly nurture new technologies to the benefit of society. The Center involves approximately 60 people, of which 80% are students, research engineers and post-docs. The faculty is from more than 8 different departments.

The Center is composed of three integrated facilities supported by the Instrumentation and Design Group that designs and manufactures the specialized equipment needed to support research activities and by the Computation Support Group that ensures the availability of high end computer and visualization power:

The Davidson Laboratory

The Davidson Laboratory, founded in 1935, is one of the largest and most renowned hydrodynamic and ocean engineering research facilities in the nation. Pioneering marine hydrodynamic studies in both physical modeling and computer simulation of marine craft designs (ranging from high-speed planning boats to submarines) have contributed to the Laboratory’s international reputation. The primary research facilities are two unique wave tanks. The first is a high-speed towing tank with a length of 320 feet, width of 16 feet, and a variable water depth of up to 8 feet a result of a recently completed a major renovation. A monorail-supported cable-driven carriage is capable of speeds up to 100 ft/sec. The tank also contains a programmable wave maker capable of generating monochromatic and random wave fields, as well as several types of wave spectra. Shallow water conditions can be simulated in the tank with the installation of an adjustable slope false bottom. Nearshore beach conditions are studied by placing 40 tons of quartz sand on a 65-foot-long, 1-on-20 sloping false bottom. The tank’s improved instrumentation, glass walls for viewing and photography, and public access improvements further enhance the Laboratory’s contributions to fundamental and applied research in ship design, hydrodynamics and ocean engineering. The second tank is a rotating arm and oblique-sea basin, with dimensions of 75-feet-long by 75-feet-wide and a variable water depth of up to five feet. The facility has been designated an International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark, one of only two of its kind in the nation and was featured in the February 1996 issue of Sea Technology.

The Marine Observation and Prediction Laboratory

The Marine Observation and Prediction Laboratory addresses the many challenges facing estuarine and coastal communities – including natural and man-made hazards by improving our ability to detect, understand, predict, and respond to changes to the marine environment.  Estuarine and coastal field research is accomplished through the use of the Laboratory’s two research vessels. The newest is a 45-foot research vessel fully equipped for environmental studies in the Hudson estuary and adjacent coastal ocean. The vessel is powered by a 400hp Cummins 6 cylinder diesel engine with a 400 gallon fuel capacity. It cruises at 12 kt with a top speed of about 14 kt.  Onboard capabilities include a full electronics suite including gps, radar, and chartplotter, a 50 gallon freshwater tank, berths for 3, and a 1500-pound capacity A-frame winch. Research instrumentation includes topographic and bathymetric surveying equipment, a CODAR high frequency radar system, Acoustic Doppler Current Meters, PUV meters, laser-based Suspended Sediment Particle-size Distribution Meters, and a Turner-design fluorometry system. The State of New Jersey funds the Laboratory to administer the New Jersey State Coastal Protection Technical Assistance Service (CPTAS), a unique resource created to both inform and counsel New Jersey citizens and government officials regarding coastal protection technology.

Modeling systems for estuarine and coastal ocean nowcasts and forecasts are being constantly refined to provide the most accurate realizations possible of the marine environment. The basis of the modeling systems is the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) and its shallow water derivative model, ECOMSED (Estuarine and Coastal Ocean Model with Sediment Transport). They are the central modeling component of the Laboratory’s New York Harbor Observing and Prediction System. NYHOPS is a real-time observation and forecasting system that provides continuous information regarding present ocean and weather conditions throughout the region and forecasts of conditions out to 48 hours. The real-time data and model forecasts are disseminated to the public via the Internet at  www.stevens.edu/maritimeforecast.

Maritime Security Laboratory

Maritime Security Laboratory facilitates advances in methods and technologies relevant to maritime security.  The Laboratory is designed to enable system-level experiments and data-driven modeling in the complex environment of an urban tidal estuary.  The focus of the laboratory is on underwater threats and threats from small craft with hostile intent. The laboratory is constantly working to address future threats as they become identified. It has created and demonstrated a set of innovative sensing technologies and methodologies, and a set of complementary data integration and data distillation methodologies, which, when used together, show a high potential to reliably protect ships.  Additional types of research prototype sensors, sensing systems, sensing methodologies, and refined detection enhancement methodologies are currently being modeled and experimentally tested. A laboratory infrastructure has been established in the Hudson River, connected to the Stevens campus in Hoboken.  This laboratory infrastructure is being augmented with additional platforms in the water, including unmanned, underwater vehicle’s (UUV’s), and additional on-shore data integration and data distillation capabilities to support a wider range of sensing technologies, sensing systems, and detection-enhancement methodologies.

The Laboratory provides researchers, and others who may wish to use the laboratory, with a real-world testing environment and an infrastructure of in-the-water platforms, communication links, and information integration and distillation systems (computers, associated software-based processing algorithms, and stored data): that are being leveraged to quickly and easily try out new types of sensing technologies, sensing systems, and sensing /detection methodologies; including methodologies that combine multiple types of sensors and sensing systems.