CFL Crew (aka Dune Goons, Beach Rats, Surfers and Modelers)

We love all things wavy, salty, and flooded. We run to the beaches and bays when others run away.

— Current CFL Members —

Timu Gallien, Ph.D. (she/her)

Associate Professor

Dr. Timu Gallien (below, 2nd from left) is an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UCLA. She is a former Chancellor’s Fellow and Postdoctoral Scholar at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from University of California, Irvine. Her favorite things to do are windsurf, surf, SUP, snorkel and annoy her grad students and postdocs. 

                  

          

Bernabe Gomez Perez, Ph.D. (he/him)

Postdoctoral scholar

Bernabe’s main interests are ocean physics and their relations with coastal areas, especially tsunami waves and flooding, which can have a direct effect on human settlements and a wide range of natural ecosystems. He earned his Ph.D. from Cardiff University, with his dissertation titled “Underwater earthquake characterization by acoustic radiation analysis.” Bernabe believes that data science techniques, such as artificial intelligence algorithms, in combination with numerical modeling tools can provide a deeper understanding of these physical processes and shed some light on non-obvious factors that affect them. Bernabe is a passionate about nature and wildlife and likes surfing, snorkeling, and diving.

Quentin Laporte-Fauret (he/him)

Postdoctoral scholar

Quentin’s main research interest is the adaptation of sandy shorelines to climate change, with a focus on coastal dunes and the ecomorphodynamic interactions between vegetation and sediment transport. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Bordeaux, where he developed innovative UAV and hyperspectral monitoring methods to assess dune morphology and vegetation dynamics, and explored nature-based restoration approaches such as foredune notching. He recently completed a postdoctoral position at Oregon State University, where he investigated the species-specific role of native, non-native, and hybrid dune plants in shaping Pacific Northwest coastal dunes. His work combined large-scale field experiments and the development and implementation of innovative species-scale vegetation modules into an aeolian sediment transport model.

Margit Maple (she/her)

Ph.D. Candidate

When Margit is not saving lives (see story), she is working on saving coastlines. Her interest in combining the scientific rigor of engineering with policy will translate the work we do to for those who make decisions for government and municipal entities. She is also a true bruin having received her undergraduate degree from UCLA.

          

Michael Angelis (he/they)

Ph.D. Student

Michael joined the CFL crew as an undergraduate student where he discovered his love for research and coastal modeling. Michael received their B.S in Civil & Environmental Engineering from UCLA in 2022, and they continued their education at UCLA, where they obtained their Master’s in 2024. Now as a NSF-GRFP recipient, Michael continues his Ph.D. research in high-resolution CFD modeling and validation of sacrificial dune modifications to mitigate wave runup and overtopping flows. When he’s not busy coding his heart out, you can find him in the kitchen cooking an extravagant meal, in the backcountry climbing some mountain, or at the beach surfing a gnarly wave.

Gabriela (Gabi) Carr (she/her)

Ph.D. Student

Gabriela (Gabi) Carr is a third year PhD student interested in improving coastal infrastructure as marine habitat. Born and raised in New York City, she has long been fascinated by urban habitats. In her undergraduate research as a biology major at Northwestern University, her research ranged widely from studying soil in restored prairies, to the behavior of rehabilitated squirrel monkeys, to the impacts of ocean acidification on gastropod egg masses. After teaching marine and river education for K through 12 in Los Angeles, she went on to complete her Master’s in Marine Affairs at the University of Washington. There she researched how septic systems, flooded by sea level rise, will impact water quality at Washington shellfish harvest sites.  She looks forward to combining marine science and coastal engineering perspectives as a student in IoES to help improve the way we build and live on the water.

Alejandro Angel (he/him)

Ph.D. Student

Alejandro expanded from the stunning inland rivers and wetlands of South America to the immense beauty of the U.S. West Coast, all because of his fascination with water, sun, and sand. Now, he is on a mission to unravel the mysteries of coastal hydrodynamics and sediment transport, through a blend of numerical models and field observations. He is also dedicated to finding innovative Nature-Based Solutions for coastal erosion and sea-level rise. With a background in the Disaster Risk Management business, Alejandro is a firm believer in the power of open science and research divulgation as tools for social and environmental justice. When he’s not working, you’ll likely find him pushing his limits in an Ironman 70.3 race, surfing, or exploring the cosmos through a good sci-fi or astronomy book.

Davis Kim (he/him)

Ph.D. Student

Davis joined the CFL lab to explore the potential of nature based solutions in coastal regions. He graduated from UC Davis in 2023 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering where he conducted research on nearshore wave environments in Northern California bays. He looks forward to investigating the current modelling toolbox for coastal engineers and how it should be best utilized to represent wave climates and erosion on the U.S. West Coast. When he’s not in the lab you can find him playing basketball, soccer, tennis, or out on a hike!

— Our CFL Alumni —

Bo-Xiang (Burson) Tang (he/him)

Former Ph.D. Student

When Burson snorkled for the first time, it made him sea sick. So what did he do next? He learned to scuba dive!  This describes our intrepid Mr. Tang perfectly. His initiative to take action, to help out and most of all to understand makes him a beloved team member. If you need someone to stand thigh deep in estuarine mud to take measurements, he’s your guy. If you want someone to hash out a concept or review an idea, he’s your guy, too. Burson received his Ph.D. in December 2024 with his dissertation titled “Quantitative Characterization of Compound Flooding in Urban Coastal Regions: A Fully Coupled 1D2D Hydrodynamic Approach.” He graduated from Hohai University in Nanjing China and participated in the UCLA/Hohai exchange program. It was this program which introduced him to Dr. Gallien and his new goal to be ‘the’ compound flooding guru.

Maria Winters (she/her)

Former Ph.D. Student

Maria is our resident Mayor of Bermtown and chief pilot at CFL. She received her Ph.D. in December 2023 with her dissertation titled “Modeling and Observations of Human Constructed Dunes in Wave and Tidally Dominated Coastal Environments.” When she is not hanging out on the natural shoreline project at Cardiff State Beach, she is busy running up and down X-Beach simulations. Maria takes her role as mentor seriously and participates in critical outreach here at UCLA (Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) and the IoES Center for Diverse Leadership in Science (CDLS)). She is looking forward to continuing her work on shoreline restoration and berm development as it relates to protection of our vital coast communities.

Joseph Lucey (he/him)

Former Ph.D. Student

Joseph Lucey-Renteria is an Assistant Professor in the Civil Engineering Department at California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA). He completed his postdoctoral training as an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) fellow at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Coastal Hydraulics Lab (CHL) studying compound flooding along transition zones. He received his Ph.D. in June 2023 with his dissertation titled “Characterizing compound coastal flood risk in urbanized communities: A Multivariate approach.” His research interests revolve around investigating flood developments, transition zones, and quantifying uncertainties utilizing statistical and numerical methods . 

Marie-Pierre (MP) Delisle, Ph.D. (she/her)

Former Ph.D. Student

Dr. MP Delisle is currently an Assistant Professor at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. In 2023, she was a Postdoctoral investigator at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Falmouth, Massachusetts. She received her Ph.D. in May 2023 with her dissertation entitled “A high-resolution numerical investigation of beach groundwater and swash interactions.” MP is a triple bruin, having previously completed her B.S. and M.S. at UCLA. Her research interests revolve around high-resolution numerical modeling of swash-beach groundwater interactions and the implications on coastal vulnerability. More information about MP’s current work can be found here.

Chuan Li, Ph.D. (he/him)

Former Postdoctoral Scholar

Dr. Chuan Li is currently a Senior Engineer at Arup. He earned his Ph.D. from Oregon State University with his dissertation entitled “Extreme Wave Runup and Runup Variability on Beaches.” Before that, he completed his M.S. at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (also his alma mater), studying sediment transport in rivers. As a Postdoctoral Scholar in CFL, he worked on projects related to nearshore hydrodynamics.

Yeulwoo (Yar) Kim, Ph.D. (he/him)

Former Postdoctoral Scholar

Dr. Yeulwoo Kim is currently an Assistant Professor at Pukyong National University, Busan, South Korea. He is a small scale modeler with a big scale heart. He received his Ph.D. from University of Delaware with his dissertation entitled “A Numerical Investigation of Turbulent Coherent Stuctures and Sediment Transport in Shallow Coastal Zone.” More information about Yeulwoo’s current work can be found here.

Nikos Kalligeris, Ph.D. (he/him)

Former Postdoctoral Scholar

Dr. Nikos Kalligeris is currently Principal Researcher (tenured) at the Institute of Geodynamics of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) and the operational head of the Hellenic National Tsunami Warning Center (HL-NTWC). He holds a Ph.D in Civil Engineering from that other school (USC) with his dissertation “Tsunami-induced turbulent coherent structures.” The primary focus of his research is in the fields of nearshore hydrodynamics and tsunami hazard assessment. Before joining NOA, he worked on projects related to nearshore hydrodynamics and morphodynamics while a Postdoctoral Scholar in CFL. His past research topics include experimental work on tsunami hydrodynamics, extensive field work after worldwide tsunami events as a member of the International Tsunami Surveying Team, tsunami hazard assessment studies, coastal flood modeling and harbor resonance. More information about Nikos’ current work can be found here.

Minna Ho (she/her)

Former Masters Student

Minna Ho received her M.S. in 2020 with her thesis “Modeling and Validation of Coastal Wastewater Effluent Plumes Using High-Resolution Nonhydrostatic Regional Ocean Modeling System.” She was co-advised with Dr. Jim McWilliams in the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Department at UCLA.  

As a scientist in the Biogeochemistry Department at the Southern California Coast Water Research Project (SCCWRP), Minna’s research on nearshore physical processes, specifically her work on wastewater plume modeling supports sanitation management discharge decisions at SCCWRP. More information about Minna’s current work can be found here.