Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines

Science. Policy. Education. Outreach. Coastal.

Andrew S. Coburn, Associate Director

Andrew Coburn Assistant Director

Phone: 828.227.3027

Email: acoburn@wcu.edu

Andrew S. Coburn is Associate Director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University. There he provides critical policy, planning and technical support to hundreds of local, state and federal resource management agencies, universities, NGOs, the media and other stakeholder groups, and has served as a member of the NC Hazard Mitigation Planning Initiative, NC Barrier Island Planning Steering Committee, NC Coastal Stakeholders Committee, NC State Emergency Response Team and NOAA Beach Nourishment Steering Team. Mr. Coburn has completed over twenty aerial and on-the-ground post storm coastal impact assessments, and was one of the first researchers to evaluate and document the impacts of Hurricanes Katrina and Ike along the Mississippi, Alabama and Texas Gulf Coast. Mr. Coburn has also provided expert testimony to the US House Subcommittee on Fisheries and Oceans, briefed US House staffers on the status of coastal engineering, served as a coastal management guide/expert for National Geographic, NBC Nightly News, CNN and the New York Times and has been interviewed, featured and/or mentioned in nearly 150 media outlets nationwide. He has a B.S. from Pennsylvania State University and a MEM from Duke University.

Areas of Interest:

  • Coastal planning, policy and management
  • Hurricane and storm impacts
  • Green building
  • Alternative energy

Courses:

  • Environmental Politics and Policy
  • Beach and Island Geological Processes
  • Introduction to Physical Coastal Processes

Education:

  • M.E.M., Duke University, 1993
  • B.S., The Pennsylvania State University, 1988

Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines
Old Student Union
Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC 28723