Sept. 9, 2011
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VICKSBURG, Miss. — William "Bill" Curtis was recently appointed technical director for Flood and Coastal Storm Damage Reduction for ERDC.
Curtis has been serving as the area's acting technical director since May 2010, where he leads research and development activities associated with several U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) mission areas.
In his current position, Curtis is responsible for six research and development (R&D) programs that address a diversity of research needs in the disciplines of hydraulics and hydrology, risk assessment, geotechnical engineering, structural design, economics, life loss, emergency management and water supply, to name a few.
He is a member of the Executive Advisory Committees of the Hydraulics, Hydrology and Coastal Community of Practice, the Coastal Working Group, and the Flood Risk Management Planning Center of Expertise Management Board. Curtis was also recently nominated to the Board of Directors of the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association.
Curtis joined the Corps in 1992 as an oceanographer in the Coastal Engineering Research Center, where he conducted studies on coastal wave, current and sediment processes in support of storm damage reduction, navigation and environmental restoration project design and performance assessment. In 2005, he joined the Office of the Technical Directors in the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory as an associate technical director, with the role of managing technical research programs relevant to the USACE Flood Risk Management business line.
"I look forward to leading diverse teams of talented people from across the Corps' R&D community," he said, "as we develop technologies to save lives and mitigate the safety hazard associated with flood and storm events, improving the quality of life for the public."