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Dr. Bret M. Webb is a Professor in the Department of Civil, Coastal, and Environmental Engineering at the University of South Alabama's College of Engineering. With over 20 years of experience in coastal engineering, he focuses on resilience of the built environment to extreme events and climate change, and the role of natural systems in coastal protection. His work spans coastal processes, transportation infrastructure, and ecosystem-based solutions. Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. in Coastal/Civil Engineering from the University of Florida Licensed Professional Engineer (AL, FL) and Board Certified Coastal Engineer (BC.CE) Research Interests: Dr. Webb specializes in coastal resilience, particularly the interaction between engineered infrastructure and natural/nature-based systems. His work examines wave-structure interactions, sediment transport, and adaptation strategies for sea level rise and hurricanes. Recent Projects: Leads the Augmenting Sentinel Hurricane Towers initiative, collaborates on living shorelines monitoring with Dauphin Island Sea Lab, and explores tropical seagrass impacts on coastal dynamics with the University of the Virgin Islands. He also contributes to systems engineering approaches for barrier island resilience and risk-based community planning via NIST-funded projects. Laboratory & Modeling Expertise: Director of the University of South Alabama's ACES Center, managing physical facilities (wave flume, wave basin) and numerical models (XBeach, ADCIRC, Delft3D). Fieldwork involves coastal monitoring with ADCPs, CTDs, and GNSS surveying.

• Coastal Resilience
• Nature-Based Shoreline Protection
• Coastal Processes (Waves, Tides, Storm Surge, Sediment Transport)
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Heath Pickerill serves as Director of the Missouri Local Training and Resource Center (encompassing Missouri-LTAP and Missouri-RTAP) at Missouri University of Science and Technology while holding academic appointments as Adjunct Associate Professor in Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at Missouri S&T and adjunct faculty in Construction Management at Park University. He additionally advises S&T's Solar House Design Team. His academic credentials include a bachelor's degree in architecture, Master of Architecture, and Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, plus a PhD in Human Environmental Sciences from the University of Missouri - Columbia. Prior professional experience spans architectural consulting and project management with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Fort Leonard Wood. Research centers on solar adoption in rural settings and infrastructure management for local public agencies , emphasizing practical technology transfer solutions for rural transportation and public works systems through training programs and technical assistance. As Director, he oversees all Missouri-LTAP/RTAP operations including strategic partnership development, resource leveraging, and national representation such as chairing the 2014 National LTAP conference in St. Louis. Professional affiliations include the American Public Works Association, Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety Infrastructure Subcommittee, Transportation Engineers Association of Missouri board, Missouri Association of County Transportation Officials, and Missouri's State Transportation Innovation Council.

• Infrastructure Management
• Renewable Energy Adoption
• Rural Transportation
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Pete Willemsen is a Professor and Department Head in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Swenson College of Science and Engineering. His research focuses on urban microclimate simulation, virtual reality education, and human-computer interaction. Current research includes One Night in Tarrytown (interdisciplinary VR learning environments) Development of Quick Environmental Simulation (QES) for urban wind and pollution modeling Investigation of radiance field content generation for VR applications Prior projects have explored: Locomotion mechanics in VR training systems GPU-accelerated environmental simulations Human spatial perception in virtual environments Low-cost Kinect-based tracking systems Collaborations span multiple disciplines including Communications, Digital Arts, and Mechanical Engineering. Current students include Asif Sijan (VR content generation), Christianah Adigun (spatial cognition), and Noah Miller (VR controller ergonomics).

• Virtual Reality (VR)
• Augmented Reality (AR)
• Mixed Reality (MR)
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Luis Sanchez serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Civil and Urban Engineering at New York University's Tandon School of Engineering while concurrently holding the position of Lower Manhattan Borough Commissioner for the New York City Department of Transportation since May 2007. His educational credentials include a Master of Science in Transportation Planning and Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of New York and a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering from the City College of New York. With over three decades of professional experience, Sanchez specializes in roadway design, transit infrastructure, pedestrian facilities, and environmental impact assessments. His notable projects encompass the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Transit System, Van Wyck Expressway/Western Queens ITS, and the Lower Manhattan Alternatives Access Study, demonstrating expertise in large-scale urban reconstruction and traffic management. He maintains active membership in key professional organizations: American Society of Civil Engineers Institute of Transportation Engineers National Society of Professional Engineers Municipal Engineers of the City of New York Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Sanchez's career trajectory spans private sector leadership as co-founder of El Taller Colaborativo, P.C. and public service roles including Director of Street Reconstruction at NYC DOT, where he administered the FHWA WTC Emergency Relief Program prior to his current commissioner appointment.

• Transportation Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Traffic Impact Studies
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Nancy Ingabire Abayo serves as Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at Lafayette College, specializing in interdisciplinary geohazard research that integrates geology, earthquake engineering, seismology, and granular physics to enhance infrastructure resilience against natural disasters. She teaches CE 361 (Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering) with a focus on community-centered design and accessible pedagogy. Her research targets liquefaction-induced lateral spreading—where saturated soils behave like liquids during earthquakes—addressing high variability in predictive models that threaten roadways and buildings. Motivated by childhood flood experiences, she investigates consequences of earthquakes, floods, and limnic eruptions to improve hazard mitigation techniques through cross-disciplinary collaboration. Dr. Abayo emphasizes holistic education through empathetic teaching strategies that accommodate diverse learning styles while encouraging students to incorporate community needs into engineering solutions. Outside academia, she enjoys spontaneous singing, laminating objects, and mirror-writing.

• Geohazards
• Earthquake Engineering
• Liquefaction
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