Associate Director, Urban Coast InstituteMonmouth University
400 Cedar Avenue
West Long Branch, New Jersey 07764
Email: therring@monmouth.edu
Phone: 732-263-5588
Visit Thomas's Research Website
Research Disciplines: Research Interests:
Coastal Processes, Coastal Resilience, Natural and Nature-Based Features, Nuisance Flooding, Coastal Storm Impacts, Ocean Observing Systems
View Thomas's CVBiographical Sketch
Dr. Tom Herrington is the associate director of the Urban Coast Institute at Monmouth University and serves as the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium Resilient Communities and Economies Specialist. Dr. Herrington has 30 years of experience in coastal resilience and hazard mitigation research, including the monitoring and analysis of coastal system changes to storm surge and wave impacts, and the analysis of Nature and Nature Based Features for ecosystem restoration and community resilience. Prior to joining Monmouth, Dr. Herrington was the director of the ocean engineering graduate program at Stevens Institute of Technology and the director of the New Jersey Coastal Protection Technical Assistance Service, where he developed and evaluated coastal protection systems for New Jersey. He has authored or coauthored over 100 journal, outreach and technical publications in the field of coastal and ocean engineering, including a Framework for Prioritizing Coastal Ecological Adaptations in New Jersey and is a contributing author to Blue Dunes: Climate Change by Design. Tom presently co-coordinates the New Jersey Coastal Resilience Collaborative and is a research team member of a NSF funded research coordination network focused on future climate change-driven coastal population displacement. Tom serves on the Board of Directors of the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association, the Jersey Shore Partnership, and the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium.
Education
Dr. Herrington holds a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Civil Engineering and a MS and Ph.D. in Ocean Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology.
Other Research
NJ Consortium for Resilient Coastal Communities – NJ State funded consortium to identify climate change related research needs to inform future coastal restoration and adaptation projects for ecosystem and community resilience.
Coastal Lakes Observing Network (CLONet) – Community research project to monitor NJ coastal lakes to analyze climate-driven changes in lake water quality and the detection of HAB events.
NJ Coastal Resilience Collaborative – Coordination of state, academic, non-profit, for-profit, community and stakeholder groups to develop and apply best available science and tools for coastal resilience planning and project implementation.
NJ Sea Grant Resilient Communities and Economies Specialist – Work with coastal communities to improve understanding of climate change driven coastal change and inform local decision-making with the best available science.