The U.S. Section of the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure is ramping up its 2022 educational series with a webinar on the Marine Transportation System Resilience Assessment Guide, scheduled for June 15, 2022. The Guide provides a process for organizing and understanding the complicated systems that comprise the Marine Transportation System. The June 15 webinar will be presented by contributing experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Homeland Security, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Rhode Island. 

The Marine Transportation System Resilience Assessment Guide introduces a framework for structuring a resilience assessment and assembles a variety of resources that make an assessment possible based on the goals of the Guide user. It also presents advice for assembling a diverse group of public and private stakeholders and agencies that manage these systems, a critical step in ensuring that an assessment is more than a report on a shelf. 

PIANC USA, the U.S. Section of the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure, is hosting the event. Since the organization’s founding in 1902, PIANC USA members have studied and shared their expertise on emerging topics in the field of waterborne transportation. Recent PIANC publications can be found on the topics of autonomous shipping vessels, saltwater intrusion, and managing climate change uncertainties, reflecting the breadth of knowledge PIANC USA cultivates in the field of waterborne transport.

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is the premier research and development center for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. ERDC researches solutions in the areas of military engineering, installations and operational environments, civil works, geospatial research and engineering, and engineered resilient systems. Representing in this event will be panelists Katherine Chambers, a Research Physical Scientist, and David Young, Ph.D., P.E., a Research Civil Engineer, both in the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, as well as Martin Schultz, Ph.D., a Research Environmental Engineer in the Environmental Laboratory.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) collaborates to build a more secure and resilient infrastructure for the future. Representing CISA’s Infrastructure Assessments and Analysis Division in this event will be panelists Jevon Daniel, program manager and Guide project lead, and Joe Kendall, senior project manager with ABS Group supporting CISA.

From Vanderbilt University will be panelists Craig Philip, Ph.D., and Miguel Moravec, who have been studying maritime systems including infrastructure sustainability, carrier safety management, and transport policy. And from the University of Rhode Island’s Department of Marine Affairs will be panelist Austin Becker, Ph.D., an interdisciplinary scientist working across the fields of planning, policy, engineering, and ocean science.

This panel of experts from leading federal agencies and universities will share their insights on the Marine Transportation System Resilience Assessment Guide from 11:00am – 12:30pm EDT on June 15. The virtual event is free and all are welcome. Registration can be found at https://pianc.us/webinar-mts-guide.