“P” AS IN “PAPA” : THE IMPACT OF ORRIN H. PILKEY ON U.S. COASTAL ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT, AN ONGOING SAGA

Orrin H. Pilkey and the Duke Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines have arguably had a greater impact on coastal issues in the U.S. today than any other group. Using a combination of fieldwork, detailed literature searches (especially the gray literature and design documents), critical analysis, and public advocacy, Dr. Pilkey has changed common coastal zone management and engineering ideas and practices. Along the way, he has blurred the boundary between academic science and its pursuits with the role of the scientist as an advocate for change within the public arena. Among Orrin Pilkey’s contributions are: 1) Documenting the detrimental effects of seawalls on beaches: It is now widely accepted that seawalls cause long-term beach narrowing through a number of mechanisms. Relentless efforts to document the mechanisms and to inform the public have resulted the outright banning of seawalls by some states and a grudging acceptance of this fact by most of the coastal engineering community. 2) Perfecting methods of coastal hazard mapping and hurricane property damage mitigation strategies: Beginning with the Living with the Shore book series and progressing to extended FEMA-sponsored mitigation studies, the foundation of these fields was laid before there was widespread recognition of the need. 3) Documenting the cost and ultimate futility of beach replenishment: This work has ranged from maintaining an invaluable accounting of replenishment expenditures to documenting the ultimate fate of beach replenishment sand to challenging many of the fundamental, but flawed, concepts of coastal engineering design. 4) Examining the use of numerical coastal engineering models: This most recent focus has spurred a growing national debate on the efficacy of models for use in project design and benefit cost analysis. While most advocates of coastal engineering models have been reluctant to engage in an academic debate, the impacts of his analysis are clear in the changes made over the last several years to major numerical models such as GENESIS and SBEACH. The results of Dr. Pilkey’s studies were always made available to the public in a variety of non-academic publications. This unique blend of dogged research and communication of that research to the public has made Dr. Pilkey the most recognizable face in coastal science today.