Mohamed A. Dabees, Ph.D., P.E., D.CE.

 

VICE PRESIDENT

HUMISTON & MOORE ENGINEERS                                                                                                 

 

 

EDUCATION

 

Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Queen's University, 2000.
M.S. Civil Engineering, Drexel University, 1995.
M.S. Engineering Management, Drexel University, 1995.

B.S. Civil Engineering, Alexandria University, 1988.

 

 

PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

 

2000-Present    Senior Coastal Engineer - Humiston & Moore Engineers, Naples, FL 

1995-2000         Research/Teaching Assistant – Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada

1993-1995         Masters Candidate – Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA.

1990-1993         Coastal Engineer – Ministry of Public Works & Water Resources, Egypt

1988-1993         Project Manager – DSC International, Alexandria, Egypt

 

 

FIELDS OF EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCE

Numerical Modeling of aspects of Coastal Engineering including:

          Large Scale Regional Hydrodynamics
          Wave propagation, refraction, diffraction

          Sediment transport & Beach Morphology Modeling

          Inlet Evolution, Morphology and Sand Budget

          Coastal Engineering Analysis and Design

          Erosion analysis and projection
          Formulation of alternative design concepts and feasibility studies
          Beach fill design of varying sediment size, beach performance projections

          Coastal structures performance evaluation and projection

 

 

GENERAL

 

As a senior engineer with Humiston & Moore Engineers (H&M) since 2000, Dr. Dabees has become a key component to the firm’s continued success which began in 1991.Dr. Dabees is recognized internationally as an expert in the field of coastal modeling and has established innovative procedures in evaluation of inlet evolution and beach morphology modeling.As a highly respected leader in his field, Dr. Dabees has been worked with the US Army Corps of Engineers (COE) Coastal Engineering Research center in Vicksburg Mississippi to provide input on the development of parts of the COE’s Coastal Modeling System.While pursuing his doctorate, in collaboration with Dr. Kamphuis at Queen’s University Dr. Dabees developed the Contour Line Change model NLINE, an advanced proprietary model that simulates long term sediment transport and nearshore morphology over complex bathymetry, nearshore hardbottom and interaction with coastal structures where many commercially available models have limitations. Dr. Dabees’ contribution to research and development is documented through numerous publications and technical reports as well as providing editorial reviews for publications in several reputable journals in the field of coastal engineering.

 

Model Development

Dr. Dabees has continued to develop and improve the NLINE model’s practical capabilities through many applications of the model in support of beach and erosion control projects over the past 16 years. The model has gained acceptance from State and Federal regulatory agencies through applied design and permitting of projects in Florida, and has achieved international recognition through technical conferences and publications. This model is unique in the capability to predict long-term sand transport and 3-dimensional morphology changes as well as shoreline changes in areas with irregular bathymetry such as inlet shoals and beaches with exposed hard-bottom. This level of detail provides practical economical run-time capability for evaluating long-term beach response to proposed design alternatives. The capability of model in-house model development provide a unique advantage in formulating site specific conditions that may be beyond the capability of the typical user of commercially available models.

 

Coastal Process Modeling – Beach Restoration

Dr. Dabees has been responsible for the technical evaluation of the coastal processes and historical shoreline morphology as well as the evaluation of design alternatives and project performance for a number of beach restoration projects including projects throughout Florida.  These include a highly detailed evaluation of regional and local erosion problems as well as design alternatives for various areas within Palm beach county and the Town of Palm Beach along the Atlantic coast. The detailed modeling included representation of spatial variations in  beach profile shape, sediments characteristics, hardbottom and existing structures. Large scale morphology modeling for beach projects also covered large part of southwest and central Florida including, South Siesta Key for Sarasota County  , Gasparilla Island for Lee County, Hideaway Beach for Collier County and Honeymoon Island for Pinellas County and the state Department of Environmental Protection Parks Service. The technical modeling and approach has proven very helpful not only in the design but also in the permitting and coordination with regulatory agencies. 

 

Coastal Process Modeling –Erosion Control Structures and Nearshore Hardbottom

Dr. Dabees has completed numerous studies and evaluation of design alternatives for complex coastal erosion problems. For the Town of Pam Beach, regional morphology modeling was completed applying the contour change model NLine to analyze the interrelationship of the Town’s reaches with regional sediment transport budget. Site specific and alternatives analysis were conducted evaluating varying groin configurations and sand sizes. Nearshore morphology modeling in areas of complex bathymetry was applied using NLine for evaluation of alternatives for 2, 4 and 8-year periods using wave records developed from NOAA Wave Watch II database. Considerations in alternatives included evaluation of hardbottom coverage, beach fill performance and groin effects.

 

A similar analysis was completed for Palm Beach County in the design of a segmented breakwater system. Areas which have extensive exposed hard-bottom in the nearshore present complex conditions for shoreline change and morphology models. Exposed hard-bottom features may affect wave characteristics, sediment transport and morphology changes. The complexity of beaches with nearshore hard-bottom provides difficult challenges to the design of conventional shore protection and erosion control projects.. The developed approach outlined above was applied through the application of a contour line change model NLINE in conjunction with other modeling tools has been effective in simulation of coastal processes along beaches with exposed nearshore hard-bottom (Dabees, and Kamphuis 2006).

 

Beach & Inlet Morphology Modeling

Other areas of expertise in application of varying models and their respective capabilities have induced regional hydrodynamic models, wave models, and inlet morphology models with coastal process modeling. With the understanding of the strengths and limitations of varying models Dr. Dabees has completed numerous modeling studies, each with well documented validation and project design verification in support of numerous successful beach nourishment, erosion control design and inlet management implementations throughout Florida.

 

 

REGISTRATION

 

Registered Professional Engineer, State of Florida

 

 

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION 

 

Florida Shore & Beach Preservation Association
Member in the American Society of Civil Engineers, M. ASCE

Diplomate in Coastal Engineering, Academy of Coastal, Ocean, Port & Navigation Engineers

 

 

AWARDS

 

Excellence in Engineering Education, Queen’s University 1998
Ontario Graduate Scholarship; 1998-1999; Samuel McLaughlin Fellowship; 1996-1998

Queen’s Graduate Award; 1995-1999; Drexel University Fellowship; 1993-1995

 

 

PUBLICATIONS

  

Dabees M.A. and B.D. Moore (2014), EVALUATION OF BEACH EROSION UP-DRIFT OF TIDAL INLETS       IN SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL FLORIDA, USA. Proceedings of 34th Conference on Coastal                 Engineering, Seoul, Korea, 2014
      https://journals.tdl.org/icce/index.php/icce/article/view/7918/pdf_934
Rosati, J.D., Dabees, M., and Tanner, W. (2011), Inlet Reservoir Model, Part II: PC-Interface. Coastal             and Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note ERDC/CHL CHETN-IV-xx -.  Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army           Engineer Research and Development Center. 
      http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA576404 
Dabees M.A. and B.D. Moore (2011), Inlet Evolution Modeling of Multiple Inlet Systems In Southwest             and Central Florida. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue 59.
      http://www.jcronline.org/doi/abs/10.2112/SI59-013.1
Dabees M.A. , B.D. Moore, and K.K. Humiston (2011), Evaluation of Tidal Inlets Channel Migration and         Management Practices in Southwest Florida., Proc. Coastal Sediments 2011, World Scientific. 
      http://cirp.usace.army.mil/Downloads/PDF/CS11_Dabees.pdf
Dabees M.A. and B.D. Moore (2010), Evaluation of Inlet Management Practices at Navigation Inlets in           Southwest Florida., Proc. of the 32nd International Conference on Coastal Engineering, China. 
      https://icce-ojs-tamu.tdl.org/icce/index.php/icce/article/view/1898
Dabees, M.A. and N. Kraus (2008), Cumulative Effects of Channel and Ebb Shoal Dredging on Inlet               Evolution in Southwest Florida, USA, Proceedings of the 31st International Conference on Coastal           Engineering, Hamburg, Germany. World Scientific, pp2303-2315
      http://cirp.usace.army.mil/Downloads/PDF/dabees-kraus-ICCE08.pdf
Dabees M.A. J.W. Kamphuis and Humiston K.K. (2006), Contour line Change Model for Beaches with           nearshore hardbottom, Proceedings of the 30th International Conference on Coastal Engineering,           San Diego, USA. World Scientific, pp3465-3477.
      http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/9789812709554_0292
Dabees, M.A., and Kraus N.C. (2005), General Methodology for Inlet Reservoir Model Analysis of Sand         Management near tidal inlets. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference Coastal Dynamics,           Barcelona, Spain, CD-ROM, ASCE, 14pp.
      http://cirp.usace.army.mil/Downloads/PDF/dabees-kraus-CD05.pdf
Dabees M.A. and Humiston K.K. (2004), Modeling and Design of new T-groins along the Southwest               Coast of Florida. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue 33: "Functioning and Design of Coastal       Groins", Editors: Kraus N.C., and Rankin K.L., pp324-341.
Dabees, M.A., and Kraus N.C. (2004), Ebb Tidal Shoals as Sand Source for Beach Nourishment:                   Numerical Modeling and Analysis of Case Studies to Provide Design Guidance. 2004 National                 Conference on Beach Preservation Technology, CD-ROM, FSBPA, Tallahassee, FL, 21pp. 
      http://cirp.usace.army.mil/Downloads/PDF/dabees-kraus-FSBPA04.pdf

Dabees M.A, Moore B.D. and Humiston K.K. (2004), Enhancement of T-groin's Design to Improve                   Downdrift Shoreline Response. Proceedings of the 29th International Conference on Coastal                   Engineering, Lisbon, Portugal. World Scientific, pp.2423-2435
      http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/9789812701916_0195
Dabees M.A., (2003), “beach Erosion Near Tidal Inlets, Selected Case Studies Along Southwest Florida         Coastline. Proc. Coastal Sediment 2003, Clearwater Florida. 

Dabees M.A., Moore B. and Kamphuis J.W. (2002), “Combining Numerical Modeling and Monitoring Data       for Analyzing Coastal Processes and Beach Change in Southwest Florida”, Proceedings, 28th                 International Conference on Coastal Engineering, Cardiff, UK., ASCE, pp1308-1320.
Dabees M.A. (2001), “Practical Modeling of beach Dynamics: Application Case Studies of a New                   Generalized Contour Line Model” Proceedings, National Conference on Beach Preservation                     Technology, Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA, pp172-185
Dabees M.A. and Kamphuis J.W. (2000), “NLINE, Efficient Modeling of 3D Beach Change” Proceedings,        27th International Conference on Coastal Engineering, Sydney, Australia, ASCE, pp2700-2713.
Dabees M. A. (2000), “Efficient modeling of Beach Evolution” Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Civil                       Engineering, Queen’s University, Canada.