James Kaihatu

James Kaihatu is a Professor in the Civil & Environmental Engineering department at Texas A&M University's College of Engineering, serving as Division Head of Environmental, Water Resources, & Coastal Engineering. His research focuses on surface wave dynamics, tsunami inundation, contaminant transport, and coastal flooding impacts.

• Ph.D., Civil Engineering, University of Delaware (1994)
• M.S., Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley (1987)
• B.S., Civil Engineering, California State Polytechnic University (1986)

His work spans computational modeling, laboratory experiments (NHERI Directional Wave Basin, Oregon State University), and field studies post-hurricanes (Ike, Michael, Dorian, Ian). Funded by NSF, ONR, NOAA, and EPA, he explores data assimilation techniques for bathymetry inversion and environmental monitoring.

Current projects include Galveston Bay wetland erosion analysis and post-disaster field surveys in hurricane-affected regions.