Daniel MacDonald

Dr. Daniel G. MacDonald is a Professor and Co-Chairperson of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, affiliated with the School for Marine Science & Technology (SMAST). He holds a PhD from the MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Joint Program in Oceanographic Engineering, an MS from Cornell University, and a BS from the University of New Hampshire. His research focuses on environmental fluid mechanics, turbulence, river plume dynamics, and marine renewable energy, leveraging autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for data collection. He leads the Coastal Engineering & Fluid Mechanics Lab, investigating coastal physics, renewable energy systems, and environmental monitoring.

Key research activities include studying river plume front evolution, developing wave energy converters like the MADWEC, and salt marsh elevation surveys. He has secured grants from agencies such as the Office of Naval Research and the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program. Dr. MacDonald is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Geophysical Union.

His teaching includes courses on pollutant transport and environmental fluid mechanics. He collaborates widely, with projects involving UMaine, UConn, and industry partners like EOM OFFSHORE.