April 6, 2012
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WASHINGTON — Joan Pope, assistant director for Civil Works in the Research and Development Directorate at Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (HQUSACE) was recently named the recipient of the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) Corps of Engineers' Award for her work on behalf of America's coast.
Pope is responsible for coordinating efforts between Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Corps laboratory community of water resources and applied engineering research and development (R&D) activities, including hydrodynamic, sediment transport and ecosystem modeling and technologies for planning, engineering and maintenance. She also supports the USACE Senior Scientist and the Chief of Engineers in prioritizing and directing civil works investments related to navigation, flooding, coastal storm and environmental restoration.
The award recognized Pope's long involvement in supporting the coastal engineering issues of the nation, including work on the Coastal Engineering Manual, coastal lidar mapping and shore erosion control systems, and developing training programs and outreach short courses.
"I was honored to receive this recognition," said Pope. "More than anything else, it shows how important the work for the Corps is nationally, in sustaining the economic foundations of coastal communities."
A graduate of the State University of New York at Oneonta and the University of Rhode Island, Pope's degrees include a master's in geology and oceanography. She has also completed studies in environmental sciences at the University of Virginia. She began her USACE career with the Buffalo District, where she worked on coastal projects in the Great Lakes, and joined the Coastal Engineering Research Center, now part of ERDC-CHL, in 1983 as a research scientist.
Pope's ERDC career spans 27 years and includes time as chief of the Coastal Engineering Branch. She also spent time as an acting division chief, acting deputy director of USACE R&D Headquarters, and technical director for Flood and Coastal Storm Damage Reduction. She held joint positions as the ERDC lead technical director for civil works and as the program director for civil works until transferring to USACE Headquarters in early 2012.
Although assigned to Headquarters, Pope has maintained her connections with ERDC. She currently serves as the lead for coordinating the Coastal Engineering Research Board, attends program and field user reviews and continues to work closely with the Corps coastal community.