Casey Dietrich

Associate Professor

Dr. Dietrich has developed and validated high-resolution computational models of hurricane waves and storm surge along the Gulf coast, and these models have been used for levee design by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and for floodplain risk assessment by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He has also applied these models in an operational framework to forecast storms including Hurricane Isaac (2012) as well as oil transport following the BP spill in 2010.

Dr. Dietrich received three degrees from the University of Oklahoma before moving to Notre Dame for his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering. Then he worked as a research associate for three years at the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin.

At NC State, Dr. Dietrich teaches courses in fluid mechanics and coastal engineering, including the undergraduate course CE 282 Hydraulics, and the graduate courses CE 581 Fluid Mechanics in Natural Environments, CE 596 Coastal Hydrodynamics, and CE 596 Coastal Modeling.

Education

Ph.D. 2011

Civil Engineering

University of Notre Dame

M.S. 2005

Civil Engineering

University of Oklahoma

B.S. 2004

Civil Engineering

University of Oklahoma

B.A. 2004

Journalism

University of Oklahoma

Research Description

Dr. Dietrich develops computational models for wind waves and coastal circulation, and then applies these models to high-resolution simulations of ocean behavior. His goals are to understand how coastlines are threatened during storms, how materials are transported in the coastal environment, and how to convey these hazard risks for use in decision support. His research spans the disciplines of coastal engineering, numerical methods, computational mathematics, and high-performance computing.

Honors and Awards

  • Outstanding Teacher Award, NC State University, 2018

Publications

Influence of storm timing and forward speed on tides and storm surge during Hurricane Matthew
Thomas, A., Dietrich, J. C., Asher, T. G., Bell, M., Blanton, B. O., Copeland, J. H., … al. (2019), Ocean Modelling, 137, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocemod.2019.03.004
Predictive multi-hazard hurricane data-based fragility model for residential homes
Massarra, C. C., Friedland, C. J., Marx, B. D., & Dietrich, J. C. (2019), Coastal Engineering, 151, 10–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2019.04.008
Subgrid theory for storm surge modeling
Kennedy, A. B., Wirasaet, D., Begmohammadi, A., Sherman, T., Bolster, D., & Dietrich, J. C. (2019), Ocean Modelling, 144, 101491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocemod.2019.101491
Sensitivity of Storm Surge Predictions to Atmospheric Forcing during Hurricane Isaac
Dietrich, J. C., Muhammad, A., Curcic, M., Fathi, A., Dawson, C. N., Chen, S. S., & Luettich, R. A., Jr. (2018), Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering, 144(1), 04017035. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)ww.1943-5460.0000419
Variability in Coastal Flooding predictions due to forecast errors during Hurricane Arthur
Cyriac, R., Dietrich, J. C., Fleming, J. G., Blanton, B. O., Kaiser, C., Dawson, C. N., & Luettich, R. A. (2018), Coastal Engineering, 137, 59–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2018.02.008
Vignette
Dietrich, J. C. (2018), In Disaster Epidemiology (pp. 153–156). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-809318-4.00020-4
An Earth's Future Special Collection: Impacts of the coastal dynamics of sea level rise on low-gradient coastal landscapes
Kidwell, D. M., Dietrich, J. C., Hagen, S. C., & Medeiros, S. C. (2017), Earth's Future, 5(1), 2–9. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016ef000493
A Discontinuous Galerkin Coupled Wave Propagation/Circulation Model
Meixner, J., Dietrich, J. C., Dawson, C., Zijlema, M., & Holthuijsen, L. H. (2014), Journal of Scientific Computing, 59(2), 334–370. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10915-013-9761-5
Characterizing hurricane storm surge behavior in Galveston Bay using the SWAN plus ADCIRC model
Sebastian, A., Proft, J., Dietrich, J. C., Du, W., Bedient, P. B., & Dawson, C. N. (2014), Coastal Engineering, 88, 171–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2014.03.002
Hindcast and validation of Hurricane Ike (2008) waves, forerunner, and storm surge
Hope, M. E., Westerink, J. J., Kennedy, A. B., Kerr, P. C., Dietrich, J. C., Dawson, C., … Westerink, L. G. (2013), Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans, 118(9), 4424–4460. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrc.20314

View all publications via NC State Libraries