Education: ^top

Ph.D., Civil Engineering, University of British Columbia, 1989
M.A.Sc., Civil Engineering, University of British Columbia, 1985
B.A.Sc., Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, 1983

Teaching: ^top

Winter 2010 - Marine Dynamics I (NA340)
Winter 2009 - Wave Loads on Ships and Offshore Structures (NA520)
Fall 2008 - Engineering Analysis in the Marine Environment (NA500)
Winter 2007 - Wave Loads on Ships and Offshore Structures (NA520)
Fall 2006 - Environmental Ocean Dynamics (NA420)
Fall 2005 - Environmental Ocean Dynamics (NA420)
Winter 2005 - Marine Dynamics II (NA440)
Winter 2004 - Marine Dynamics II (NA440)

Research Interests: ^top

Nearshore Wave Hydrodynamics
Mathematical modeling of wave propagation in coastal regions, Boussinesq equations, nonlinear wave-wave interactions in shallow water, wave breaking and breaking-induced turbulence in the surf zone, rip currents, longshore currents.

Wave-Structure Interaction
Mathematical modeling of the motions of large offshore structures in irregular multidirectional waves, mathematical modeling of the motions of ships in navigation channels and harbors, time-domain modeling of the dynamic response of slender compliant structures, laboratory model studies of oil production platforms.

Ship-Generated Waves
Mathematical modeling of waves and currents generated by large deep-draft vessels in confined waterways, wake wash from high-speed vessels, ship-ship and ship-bank interaction, water-level drawdown and return currents in confined channels, vessel squat in shallow water.

Wave Propagation in Harbors
Wave refraction, diffraction and reflection in ports and harbors, infragravity wave generation in shallow water, long-period resonant harbor oscillations.

Sediment Transport
Advection-diffusion modeling of suspended sediment transport in the surf zone, beach erosion processes.

Biography: ^top

Dr. Nwogu is a Senior Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at the University of Michigan. Prior to joining the University of Michigan, Dr. Nwogu worked at the National Research Council of Canada from 1989 to 1999 and at Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey from 1999 to 2001. Dr. Nwogu has over ten years experience in the development and application of mathematical models to simulate free surface flows in coastal regions and the interaction of ocean waves with fixed and floating coastal and offshore structures. He is the author of an American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) award-winning paper on nearshore wave propagation modeling. He is also the principal developer of a comprehensive computer model for simulating the propagation and transformation of wind-generated in coastal regions and harbors, and ship-generated waves in rivers and estuaries.

Dr. Nwogu has also been involved in a number of laboratory model studies including a model study of a tension-leg oil production platform for 2500 ft of water in the Gulf of Mexico and measurements of hurricane-induced wave loads on jacket oil production platforms. His current research interests include nearshore wave propagation modeling, wave breaking and wave-induced currents in the surf zone, wake wash from high-speed vessels in shallow water, motions of ships in navigation channels and harbors, remote sensing of nearshore waves and currents and sediment transport and beach erosion processes.

Publications: ^top

• Nwogu, O.G. 2009. Interaction of finite-amplitude waves with vertically sheared current fields. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 627, 179-213(pdf)
• Nwogu, O.G. and Lyzenga, D.R. 2010. Surface wavefield estimation from coherent marine radars. IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, (DOI: 10.1109/LGRS.2010.2043712) (pdf )
• Aragh, S. H. and Nwogu, O. 2009. Variational assimilation of synthetic radar data into a pseudo-spectral wave model. Journal of Coastal Research, 52, 235-244.
• Aragh, S. H., Nwogu, O. and Lyzenga, D. 2008. Improved estimation of ocean wave fields from marine radars using data assimilation techniques. Proc. 18th Int. Offshore and Polar Eng. Conf. (ISOPE), Vancouver, Canada. (pdf)
• Aragh, S. H. and Nwogu, O. 2007. Variational assimilation of synthetic radar data into a pseudo-spectral wave model. Proc. 9th Int. Symp. on Fluid Control, Measurement, and Visualization (FLUCOME 2007), Tallahassee, FL
• Nwogu, O. and Demirbilek, Z. 2010. Infragravity wave motions and runup over shallow fringing reefs, ASCE Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering (http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WW.1943-5460.0000050)
• Nwogu, O. and Demirbilek, Z. 2008. Nonlinear wave transformation and runup over fringing coral reefs. Proc. 31st Int. Conference on Coastal Engineering, Hamburg, Germany.
• El Asmar, W. and O. Nwogu. 2006. Finite volume solution of Boussinesq-type equations on an unstructured grid. Proc. 30th Int. Conference on Coastal Engineering, San Diego, CA, 73-85.
• Nwogu, O. and Demirbilek, Z. 2006. Nonlinear wave interaction with submerged and surface-piercing porous structures. Proc. 30th International Conference on Coastal Engineering, San Diego, CA, 287-299.
• Nwogu, O. 2006. Boussinesq modeling of landslide-generated waves and tsunami runup. In Advanced Numerical Models For Simulating Tsunami Waves And Runup Advances in Coastal and Ocean Engineering (Eds. P.L.-F Liu, H. Yeh and. C. Synolakis), Vol. 10, 273-278.
• Nwogu, O.G. and Demirbilek, Z. 2001. BOUSS-2D: A Boussinesq Wave Model for Coastal Regions and Harbors. Technical Report ERDC/CHL TR-01-25, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS. (pdf)
• Nwogu, O.G. 2001. Numerical Prediction of Rip Currents on Barred Beaches. Proc. 4th Int. Symposium on Ocean Wave Measurement and Analysis, WAVES 2001, San Francisco, September, 2001.
• Sant’s, J.C., Nwogu, O., Navarro, A., Benito, C., and Mart’n M.J. 2001. Field Evaluation of A Boussinesq Model Under Highly Nonlinear And Breaking Wave Conditions. Proc. 4th Int. Symposium on Ocean Wave Measurement and Analysis, WAVES 2001, San Francisco, September, 2001
• Bruno, M., Nwogu, O., Rankin, K.L. and Herrington, T. 2000. Real-Time Nearshore Wave Measurement and Forecast System: Preliminary Results. Proc. 27th International Conference on Coastal Engineering, Sydney, Australia, 283-296.
• Nwogu, O.G. 1996. Numerical Prediction of Breaking Waves and Currents with a Boussinesq Model. Proc. 25th International Conference on Coastal Engineering, ICCE ’96, Orlando, Vol. 4, 4807-4820.
• Nwogu, O. 1994. Nonlinear Evolution of Directional Wave Spectra in Shallow Water. Proc. 24th International Conference on Coastal Engineering, Kobe, Japan, Vol. I, 467-481.
• Nwogu, O. 1993. Alternative Form of Boussinesq Equations for Nearshore Wave Propagation. Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering, ASCE, 119(6), 618-638.(pdf)
• Nwogu, O. 1993. On the Generation of Infragravity Waves by Shoaling Multi-Directional Waves. Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Ocean Wave Measurement and Analysis, WAVES ’93, New Orleans, 1-14.
• Nwogu, O., Takayama, T., and Ikeda, N., 1992. Numerical Simulation of the Shoaling of Irregular Waves Using a New Boussinesq Model. Report of the Port and Harbour Research Institute, 31(2), Yokosuka, Japan, 3-19.
• Nwogu, O., Datla, R. and Song, J. 2001. Physical Model Study of a Floating Fender System. Technical Report SIT-DL-01-9-2806, Davidson Laboratory, Stevens Institute of Technology.
• Irani, M.B., Nwogu, O.G., and Mogridge, G.R. 1992. Model Testing of Tension Leg Platforms – Part 1: Simulation of Environmental Loading. International Journal of Offshore and Polar Engineering, 2(1), 18-23.
• Nwogu, O., Cornett, A., and Haritos, N. 1992. Response of a Compliant Cylinder to Irregular Waves. Proc. 11th International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, Calgary, Vol. I, 189-196. (pdf )
• Nwogu, O. and Isaacson, M., 1991. Drift Motions of a Floating Barge in Random Multi-Directional Waves. Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, Trans. ASME, 113(1), 37-42. (pdf )
• Nwogu, O.G. and Irani, M.B. 1990. Numerical Prediction of Higher Order Wave Induced Loads on Tethered Platforms. Proc. European Offshore Mechanics Symposium, EUROMS-90, Trondheim, Norway, 265-271. (pdf )
• Isaacson, M., and Nwogu, O. 1989. Random Short-Crested Wave Forces on a Vertical Pile. Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, Trans. ASME, 111(3), 242-250.
• Nwogu, O. and Isaacson, M. 1989. Force Distribution due to Random Short-Crested Waves. Proc. Maritime Hydraulics Session, XXIII IAHR Congress, Ottawa, C-33 to C-40.
• Isaacson, M., and Nwogu, O. 1987. Wave Loads and Motions of Long Structures in Directional Seas. Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, Trans. ASME, 109(2), 126-132.(pdf )
• Nwogu, O., 2007. Numerical modeling of waves generated by high-speed vessels in shallow water with a coupled Boussinesq-Panel method. Proc. 9th Int. Conf. on Num. Ship Hydrodynamics, Ann Arbor, MI, 331-343. (pdf )
• Nwogu, O. and Demirbilek, Z. 2004. Numerical modeling of ship-induced currents in confined waterways. Proc. 29th International Conference on Coastal Engineering, Lisbon, Portugal, 256-268.
• Nwogu, O., G. 1997. Numerical Model Study of Ship-Induced Waves and Currents in the Elbe Estuary. Canadian Hydraulics Centre Technical Report HYD-CTR-039, National Research Council, Canada.
• Nwogu, O.G. 2000. Time Domain Simulation of Long-Period Oscillations in Harbors. Proc. 27th International Conference on Coastal Engineering, ASCE, Sydney, Australia, 3643-3654.
• Cornett, A.M., Nwogu, O.G., Faure, T., and Hong, E. 1997. Hydraulic Modelling of Phase 2 Development at Laem Chabang Port. Proc. 13th Australasian Conference on Coastal and Ocean Engineering, PACIFIC COASTS AND PORTS ’97, Christchurch, New Zealand, 723-728.
• Nwogu, O.G. and Mansard, E.P.D. 1994. Time Domain Simulation of Directional Wave Propagation into Harbours. Proc. Int. Conference on Hydro-Technical Engineering for Port and Harbour Construction, HYDRO-PORT ’94, Yokosuka, Japan, 253-265.
• Nwogu, O.G., and Christensen, F.T. 1994. Compliant Model Tests with the Great Belt West Bridge Piers in Ice – Part 1: Test Methods and Key Results. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 23, 149-164.
• Nwogu, O. 1993. Effect of Steady Currents on Directional Wave Spectra. Proc. 12th International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, Glasgow, Vol. I, 25-32. (pdf )
• Cornett, A.M., Miles, M.D., and Nwogu, O. 1993. Physical Modelling of Multi-Directional Waves. Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Ocean Wave Measurement and Analysis, WAVES ’93, New Orleans, 614-629.
• Nwogu, O. 1989. Maximum Entropy Estimation of Directional Wave Spectra from an Array of Wave Probes. Applied Ocean Research, 11(4), 176-182. (pdf )
• Nwogu, O., Mansard, E.P.D., Miles, M. and Isaacson, M. 1987. Estimation of Directional Wave Spectra by the Maximum Entropy Method. Proc. IAHR Seminar on Wave Analysis and Generation in Laboratory Basins, XXII IAHR Congress, Lausanne, Switzerland, 363-376. (pdf )