Trade center disaster response among topics discussed as Stevens hosts Urban Shoreline Conference this week
A conference this week at Stevens Institute of Technology will feature a dual keynote address by NY Waterway Chairman Emeritus Arthur Imperatore and his son, Arthur Imperatore Jr. The two will detail how the ferry company's employees and boats rescued thousands of people from the immense disaster scene on lower Manhattan Sept. 11.
Arthur Imperatore Jr., who was traveling by ferry down the Hudson at the time of the attacks on the World Trade Center, led the disaster response, immediately radioing all possible NY Waterway ferries to the scene. The Sept. 11 response of NY Waterway and other watercraft on the Hudson River illustrates the importance of active and well-prepared resources on urban shorelines, a major theme of this conference, which also focuses generally on the revitalization of urban shorelines.
The keynote speech is set for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24, on the fourth floor, Wesley J. Howe Center, one block east of 8th Street and Castle Point Terrace, Hoboken, N.J., on the Stevens Institute of Technology campus. The keynote kicks off the Fourth Annual Conference of the Northeast Shore and Beach Preservation Association (NSBPA).
The full conference runs two days: Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 24-25. Topics covered will include urban shoreline structures and processes, the remediation of urban sites such as docks and piers, and water transportation in urban areas, among many other areas of interest.
"The conference on Thursday and Friday will focus on challenges in waterfront development and environmental restoration, with an emphasis on community involvement in shoreline planning," said Dr. Thomas Herrington, conference chair and a research professor in the Dept. of Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology.
For more information on the conference and its full lineup of speakers and presenters, visit its web site at: personal.stevens.edu/~therring/nsbpa.html
Also, the week's coastal issues events at Stevens continue Friday with a symposium on urban shorelines sponsored by the Coastal Zone Foundation. The symposium will cover urban shoreline planning, economic impacts, access and recreation issues on urban shorelines, and community/government partnerships. It will feature national coastal experts and will include reports on urban shorefront issues from Europe to the Great Lakes and from Boston to Coney Island.
Herrington said about 100 participants are expected to attend the three days of activities. They include international presenters and a variety of experts from across the United States.
Individuals who wish to register for the conference and/or symposium may do so in advance by contacting Dr. Herrington at: Phone: (201) 216-5320, Fax: (201) 216-8214, or e-mail: therring@stevens.edu. Registration also will be available at the door on each day of the conference and the day of the symposium. The conference and symposium are free to students and members of the press.
Co-sponsors of the urban shorelines conference include the NSBPA, the American Society of Civil Engineers, through its Coasts, Oceans, Ports and Rivers Institute; the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium; and the New Jersey Sea Grant college program, a program of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
[Note to media: : Media are welcome to attend all or part of this conference free of charge. For information on attending, including logistics and parking permits, please call Cass Bruton-Ward at the number above. The conference runs Oct. 24-25, with a symposium on Oct. 26]
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Founded in 1870 and celebrating 140 Years of Innovation, Stevens Institute of Technology, The Innovation University TM , lives at the intersection of industry, academics and research. The University's students, faculty and partners leverage their collective real-world experience and culture of innovation, research and entrepreneurship to confront global challenges in engineering, science, systems and technology management.
Based in Hoboken, N.J. and with a location in Washington, D.C., Stevens offers baccalaureate, master’s, certificates and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences and management, in addition to baccalaureate degrees in business and liberal arts. Stevens has been recognized by both the US Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security as a National Center of Excellence in the areas of systems engineering and port security research. The University has a total enrollment of more than 2,200 undergraduate and 3,700 graduate students with almost 450 faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America as well as strategic partnerships with industry leaders, governments and other universities around the world. Additional information may be obtained at www.stevens.edu and www.stevens.edu/press.
