Academy of Coastal, Port, Ocean, and Navigation Engineers (ACOPNE)

Body of Knowledge for Coastal Engineering *

The ACOPNE Coastal Engineering Body of Knowledge (CEBOK) is to be used by ACOPNE evaluation panels to determine if candidates for Diplomate certification qualify for certification.

The intent of the CEBOK is not to establish a checklist of requirements, but to provide a template by which the Academy can more uniformly evaluate a candidate’s education and experience, reducing but not eliminating subjectivity.

The American Society of Civil Engineers BOK lists the outcomes necessary for Professional Licensing in 24 Categories. Coastal Engineering Certification requires the same levels as the ASCE BOK plus mastery of at least one advanced technical outcome in coastal engineering under ASCE BOK Outcomes 5 through 24.

We define “Mastery” of an outcome to mean that the engineer has reached the level of expertise such that more challenging, complex, and difficult problems may be solved than can be addressed by an ordinarily competent licensed engineer.

Mastery of a topic can be demonstrated by planning, designing, constructing, operating, managing, regulating, or researching coastal projects of geographic or type diversity at the expert level with increasing levels of responsibility and difficulty, teaching advanced courses on these topics, authoring or coauthoring papers and contributing to books, and contributing to the profession, such as through society committees, on these topics. Mastery may be manifested as exceptional expertise in a single area or as recognized expertise in multiple topic areas.

The CEBOK consists of:

Fulfillment, at the level required for licensure, of all 24 outcomes in the ASCE BOK.
Fulfillment, at the expert level of at least one outcome from the ASCE BOK Outcomes 5 Through 24 as related to one or more Coastal Engineering categories from Table 1 so as to demonstrate mastery of the discipline.

Table 1 will be used by the ACOPNE Board of Trustees or a Board-designated examination panel to evaluate applicants for certification.

Table 1. Coastal Engineering Topics Scoring Guide

CATEGORY	TOPIC (as related to Coastal Engineering)
General	Life cycle planning and management - replace, refurbish, rehabilitate Coastal Systems components, laws, stakeholders and participants Field investigations and data acquisition, analysis and interpretation Coastal Engineering basics ( to define siting, permitting and design conditions) Safety & security of environment, public’s use, private/public property Adverse and beneficial environmental impacts analysis Project Management Sustainability Planning, design and analysis Environmental law and policy with respect to coastal engineering projects

Shore Protection	Waterfront property on oceans, estuaries, lakes or other tidally influenced water bodies
Shore Protection	Tidal factors, Wave Regimes (Baseline/Normal Annual) Floods and storms (high to low frequency events) Cold, seismic or other hazards Currents (tidal, wave, density, other) Bathymetry, topography and hydrographic surveys Sediment characteristics, transport and sedimentation Modeling – Numerical or physical
Major and minor coastal structures	Outfalls, Harbor works, seawalls/revetments, jetties, groins and breakwaters
	Tidal factors, Wave Regimes (Baseline/Normal Annual) Floods and storms (high to low frequency events) Cold, seismic or other hazards Currents (tidal, wave, density, other) Bathymetry, topography and hydrographic surveys Sediment characteristics, transport and sedimentation Modeling – Numerical or physical Hydrodynamic and other types of loadings Geotechnical and foundation systems design

Hydrodynamics	Oceans, estuaries, inlets, lakes or other tidally influenced water bodies
Hydrodynamics	Floods and storms (high to low frequency events) Cold, seismic or other hazards Currents (tidal, wave, density, other) Bathymetry, topography and hydrographic surveys Sediment characteristics, transport and sedimentation Modeling – Numerical or physical Hydrodynamic environment (circulation, flushing and diffusion)
Construction, Maintenance and Monitoring	Shore protection, coastal structures, tidal inlets and bays/estuaries
	Contracting – plans, specifications and inspecting Dredged sediment management. Hydrographic surveying, sediments analysis monitoring Dredging and placement of dredged material Construction management Performance analysis and assessment Maintenance management

* Approved by the ACOPNE Board of Trustees November 14, 2010

RESOURCES

Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st Century: Preparing the Civil Engineer for the Future, Second Edition, American Society of Civil Engineers 1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, Virginia. 2008. (http://www.asce.org/Content.aspx?id=2147486178)

Sustainability and ASCE's New Action Plan

http://www.asce.org/Content.aspx?id=7232

http://www.asce.org/uploadedFiles/Sustainability_-_New/SustainabilityActionPlan.pdf

ASCE Code of Ethics

http://www.asce.org/Content.aspx?id=723