Kristen Dena Marie Splinter

Associate Professor Kristen Dena Marie Splinter is affiliated with the Water Research Laboratory (WRL) at UNSW Sydney’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She specializes in Coastal Engineering, focusing on shoreline change monitoring, coastal erosion, dune dynamics, and remote sensing applications.

• Education:
  • PhD in Geological Oceanography (2009), Oregon State University, USA
  • Certificate in Marine Resource Management (2009), Oregon State University, USA
  • MSc in Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering (2004), University of Florida, USA
  • BSc (Eng.) in Civil Engineering (2002), Queen’s University, Canada
• Research Interests:

  Her work spans storm-to-interannual shoreline modeling, equilibrium shoreline change frameworks, dune erosion under extreme wave events, reef-top hydrodynamics, and satellite remote sensing (e.g., Google Earth Engine, PlanetLabs). She integrates machine learning into coastal hazard forecasting systems.

• Grants:
  • DP200100134 (2020–2023, $370K): Dune erosion under waves/surge
  • LP170100161 (2017–2020, $505K): Australian storm wave damage early warning system
  • NSW Environmental Trust (2017–2019, $144K): Beach erosion forecasting system
  • ARC Discovery (2015–2017, $423K): Beach erosion and recovery
• Career Highlights:
  • Co-founder of #Coast2Coast seminar series
  • Senior Editor for Cambridge Prisms: Coastal Futures
  • Associate Editor for JGR-Earth Surface
  • Contributor to CoastSat, a satellite-based shoreline monitoring tool
• Advocacy:

  Actively promotes gender equity as Chair of UNSW’s Faculty of Engineering Gender, Equity, and Diversity Working Group and via Women in Coastal Geosciences and Engineering (WICGE).