Robert M. Sorensen
Professor - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Fritz Engineering Laboratory
Lehigh University   
13 East Packer Avenue
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015
Phone: (610) 758-3556

Education:
Ph.D. Civil Engineering, University of California- Berkeley, 1966  
M.S. Civil Engineering, Lehigh University, 1962    
B.S. Civil Engineering, Newark College of Engineering, 1960

Teaching Areas:
Wave Mechanics
Coastal engineering
Hydraulic engineering
Fluid mechanics and hydrodynamics

Research and Scholarship Areas:
Wave-structure interaction
Coastal zone hydromechanics
Functional/structural design of coastal structures
Shore stabilization

Significant Honors and Awards:
Engineer-of-the-Year, U.S. Army Coastal Engineering Research Center (1978)
Sea Grant Commendation, Texas A & M University (1972)
Robert Ridgeway Award, ASCE (1960)

Professional Society Memberships:
American Shore and Beach Preservation Association
American Society of Civil Engineers
Association of Coastal Engineers
Permanent International Association of Navigation Congresses

Consultation and Other External Professional Activities:
Government of Barbados - Advisor on coastal development project (1991 to date)
Technical S.p.A - analysis of proposed control works to decrease flooding in Venice, Italy
Registered Professional Engineer (No. 28913, Texas)
U.S. Patent No. 3,662,842 - Immiscible Liquid Separating Apparatus
Board of Directors-American Shore and Beach Preservation Association
Organization of American States - Consultant on Caribbean Disaster Mitigation Project
United Nations - Consultant to Central Water and Power Research Station, Poona, India
Consultant and expert witness on coastal engineering to several private consultants and government agencies

Representative Recent Publications:
Textbook On Basic Wave Mechanics: For Coastal and Ocean Engineers, John Wiley and Sons Publishers, New York, (1993)
Basic Coastal Engineering, Chapman and Hall Publishers, New York (1997) - textbook on Coastal Engineering
"Development of a Sediment Budget for the West and Southwest Coasts of Barbados" Proceedings, Coastal Sediments '99 Conference, Long Island, NY (June 1999)
"Beach Nourishment and Submerged-Crest Breakwaters" Proceedings, 26th International Conference on Coastal Engineering, Copenhagen (June 1998)
"Coastal Engineering Activities to Improve the Beaches of Barbasos", Fourth International Conference on Port and Coastal Engineering in Developing Countries, Rio de Janeiro, (Sept. 1995)
"Submerged-Crest Breakwater Design" Proceedings, Coastal Structures and Breakwaters Conference '95, London, (April 1995)
"Harbor-Hydrodynamics" Chapter 27, Coastal Engineering Manual, U.S. Army Coastal Engineering Research Center, (1994)