WEDA Fellow Position Description
The Western Dredging Association (WEDA) is a non-profit technical professional organization devoted to the exchange of knowledge in fields related to dredging, navigation, marine engineering and construction. Active members in WEDA include contractors, consultants, government and regulatory agencies, academia, industry, and manufactures. WEDA has established a position (WEDA Fellow) to assist WEDA members/commissions in their goal of being the center of dredging excellence. The goal of this program is to provide an incentive for students to contribute to the advancement of the dredging profession through significant and sustained contribution to the dredging discipline via excellence in dredging education, innovation in practice or education, demonstrated meritorious service, and/or knowledge sharing.
Position Qualifications
Qualifications of the WEDA fellow position include:
- Enrollment for the 2023-2024 academic year in an applicable program (dredging, coastal engineering, civil engineering, oceanography, or related field).
- WEDA will consider undergraduates (seniors only), Masters, and PhD students.
- Ability to provide three references, of which at least two must be university professors.
- Minimum GPA of 3.0.
- Devote 40 hours per month to the position. Includes meeting with WEDA members and on working on assigned tasks.
- Ability to self-direct.
- Support conference preparation and attend the national conference in Tampa, FL, June 24-27, 2024.
- Fellow term is February 2024 through December 2024.
Position Tasks
The WEDA Fellow is expected to have several tasks to support various WEDA endeavors. While not a comprehensive list, given the direction of the Education Commission, tasks may include the following:
WEDA TechNotes
The WEDA Fellow will assist in the preparation of WEDA TechNotes. TechNotes are expected to be short (1-4 page) papers covering a range of dredging subjects (e.g., the technology of dredging, safety, environmental concerns, marine construction topics, etc.). They are anticipated to be summarized information or primers, not in-depth engineering and technical reviews.
Under the guidance of a WEDA member, the WEDA Fellow will conduct research and draft TechNotes for review by the WEDA member. Upon undergoing a peer review process, the TechNotes will be published by WEDA with the WEDA member and Fellow as authors.
Possible WEDA TechNotes subjects include:
- Characteristics of Dredging Projects
- What are Dredges
- Hopper Dredges
- Pipeline Dredges
- Mechanical Dredging
- Programs for Safe Operation During Dredging
- Dredged Material Disposal and Management
- Regulatory Roles of Federal and State Agencies in Dredging
- Navigation Dredging: Regulatory Overview
- Dredged Material Characterization and Testing
- Permit Terms and Conditions in Dredging
- Environmental Monitoring of Dredging
- What is Capping?
WEDA Webinars
WEDA hosts monthly educational webinars (1-hour video presentation) for its members. A dry run is hosted one week prior to the Webinar to ensure there are no technical difficulties and provide the presenter a practice opportunity. The WEDA Fellow may lead dry runs and then provide assistance during the Webinar (prep work, monitoring questions and answers, etc.).
WEDA Mentoring Program
The WEDA Fellow may also aid the newly launched mentoring program. Still in the early stages of development, it is anticipated the WEDA Fellow would check in with participants and work to capture qualitative data points to track the success of the program.
WEDA Sustainability Initiative
The WEDA Environmental Commission has an initiative to capture how the dredging industry contributes to sustainable development. As part of this initiative, the Environmental Commission has broadcast a call to the greater WEDA community to submit sustainable projects and activities. The WEDA fellow may provide support to the Environmental Commission Sustainability working group to compile and research sustainable projects.
WEDA Proceedings
Another task for the WEDA Fellow will be to assist with enhancements to the past WEDA proceedings and papers available online. This task includes:
- Adding journal publications, as well as conference papers in search results on the WEDA website.
- Provide citations for each article found during a search.
- Add program outlines from each conference with links to papers
WEDA Promotion/Social Media
The WEDA Fellow will assist in the promotion and market of WEDA publications, webinars, and programs through social media and other outlets with the aim of increasing awareness and participation.
Position Stipend and Application
This position will provide a total stipend of $12,500 for the selected fellow(s) over the course of the 2023-2024 academic year. Interested candidates should complete and submit the attached application by November 1, 2023. The estimated start date for the WEDA Fellow will be February 1, 2024. Any questions about the position or application can be directed to Tom Cappellino at tcappellino@westerndredging.org.