Christopher D.P. Baxter

Christopher D.P. Baxter is a Professor and Department Chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the College of Engineering, University of Rhode Island, with expertise in geotechnical engineering, offshore wind energy, and coastal resilience. He holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech (1999), an M.S. from Purdue University (1994), and a B.S. from Tufts University (1990).

• Research Focus: Geotechnical characterization of marine sediments, liquefaction resistance analysis, fiber-optic sensing for infrastructure monitoring, and coastal protection systems.
• Recent Publications: 15+ articles (2011–2025) covering topics like shear wave velocity, offshore wind foundation dynamics, and tsunami hazard modeling.
• Grants: Led projects on offshore wind monitoring (2019–2024) and fiber-optic seismic sensing (2021–2023).

Key Collaborations: Work with teams on submarine landslide analysis, coastal dune reinforcement, and Rhode Island infrastructure resilience. His work bridges experimental geomechanics with practical coastal engineering solutions.