Alex Smith
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
absmith9@uwindsor.ca | 519-253-3000 (ext. 3437)
Work Experience
10/2017 - 10/2018
National University of Ireland GalwayLecturer Below the Bar
My responsibilities included lecturing undergraduate courses on the theory and practice of geomorphological concepts. At the Masters level, I was responsible for introducing advanced concepts in coastal systems, processes, and landforms. Emphasis was put on introducing current research and modelling methodologies along with a strong field-based learning component to apply concepts learned in the classroom.
Education
09/2013 - 07/2017
Ulster UniversityDepartment of Geography and Environmental Science (Ph.D.)
My Ph.D. research focused on the airflow and sediment transport patterns accross an arid coastal dunefield at Maspalomas, Spain. Maspalomas is a popular tourist destination; however, human impacts, including acceleration of erosion within the dunefield, have become apparent following a development boom in the 1960s. Using a combination of in situ field experiments and coupled computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling efforts, we were able to identify a hiearchical network of both human-altered and natural controls on both micro- and meso-scale airflow and sediment patterns at Maspalomas.
09/2011 - 07/2013
East Carolina UniversityDepartment of Geography (M.A.)
My M.A. research focused on creating high spatial and temporal resolution sediment budgets for a series of dune blowouts at Provincetown, Massachusetts. Dune blowouts are erosive features that often act as a conduit transferring sediment away from existing dune deposits. If persistent over time they can destabilize foredune, or in the case of our study, paleo-parabolic dunes. Using terrestrial LiDAR we monitored the annual and seasonal topographic changes in order to better understand the rates and dimensions of their development, through time.