Drew Davey

My name is Drew Davey and I’m an undergraduate in the new Coastal Engineering program at UNCW. Growing up near the Outer Banks, I have always had a passion for the ocean and a fascination with coastal processes. In my free time I love sailing, surfing, cycling and jiu-jitsu. The majority of my research experience has focused on developing low-cost sensors for studying coastal morphology. I’ve worked with Dr. Ryan Mieras in the Coastal Sediments and Hydrodynamics Laboratory (CSHL), testing and developing a Conductivity Concentration Profiler (CCP+) for studying small-scale sediment transport, as well as a Line-scanning Low-Cost (LLC) LiDAR System for quantifying beach morphology during extreme weather events. I also had the opportunity to further develop the LLC LiDAR during an internship at the Naval Research Laboratory. Over the summer, I assisted Dr. Bresnahan in teaching the SVSM Applied Coastal Science & Engineering course.

I’m currently working with Dr. Joe Long in the Coastal Hazards Laboratory, utilizing machine learning and computer vision to monitor vessel traffic over a network of coastal webcams. I chose this career path because it will give me the opportunity to study coastal morphology and make a contribution to the protection of our coasts.