For nearly five decades, the Department of Ocean Engineering’s Center for Dredging Studies (CDS) at Texas A&M University has hosted an annual Dredging Engineering Short Course (DSC) for professionals across North America and around the world. Bringing in esteemed lecturers from the dredging industry, government and academia to present the latest science and technological advances in the field, the five-day course creates a world-class continuing education environment for participants.
This year, 73 participants representing the federal government (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency), consulting firms, ports and dredging companies from around the world attended.
“It’s cool to meet all the people from industry and have such a diverse group of owners, engineers and contractors, like us, coming together,” said Connor Tennant, a participant from Manson Construction in Jacksonville, Florida. “It’s led to interesting conversations. You’re learning what everyone does differently and how they approach problems. It’s good to be able to hear from all those voices in the room and that’s how people come together to deliver a successful project.”
“I feel like it’s been beneficial to get a wide breadth of the industry and of the different considerations when it comes to dredging projects. It’s been very eye opening,” said Joseph McMahon, a participant from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Norfolk, Virginia.
Topics covered in the DSC included basic dredge laws, hydraulic and mechanical dredges, dredge pumps and performance characteristics, dredging best management practices and claims avoidance, beach and dune restoration, ecosystem (wetlands) restoration, hydrographic surveys and dredge cost estimation. The course also included a geotechnical laboratory and two dredging project exercises.
Dr. Ram Mohan, an adjunct professor in the department, led the course in coordination with the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station’s (TEES) continuing education office, TEES EDGE.
“We have been fortunate to get the best from the industry for our short courses these past years. Our classes get filled to capacity by around the end of October, showing their high demand in the industry,” said Mohan.
Established in 1968 by Dr. John Herbich, the CDS is currently under the direction of Dr. Robert Randall, professor emeritus and W.H. Bauer Professor Emeritus in Dredging Engineering. In addition to research and industrial testing, the center's activities include teaching university courses and providing annual seminars and short courses concerning advances in dredging engineering technology. Over the years, more than 2,000 dredge professionals have participated in the dredging short course.
The 50th Dredging Engineering Short Course is scheduled from Jan. 11-15, 2021 at Texas A&M. The course fee is $1,700. Applications and more information will be available on the CDS’ webpage by August 2020.