|
 Stephen
P. Leatherman, nationally renowned coastal expert and director
of Florida International University’s International Hurricane
Center (IHC) and Laboratory for Coastal Research, kicked off Memorial
Day weekend by announcing his 13th annual “America’s
Best Beaches” list and releasing his latest book, Dr.
Beach’s
Survival Guide (Yale University Press, 2003).
It’s a busy time of year for
Leatherman, whose “Best
Beaches” list has him in high demand for print, radio and
television interviews. And while the original list resulted from
an off-the-cuff answer Leatherman made to a travel writer’s
query, subsequent lists have been based on a set of 50 criteria
used to rate each beach. In what can only be described as one
of the world’s greatest job perks, Leatherman has personally
surveyed each of the 650 major public recreational beaches in
the U.S., thereby earning the moniker “Dr. Beach.” (For
the record, this year’s national winner is Kaanapali Beach
in Hawaii. For a complete list of this year’s winners,
click
here.)
Leatherman, who arrived at FIU in
1997, received his doctorate in environmental (coastal) sciences
from the University of Virginia
and his bachelor’s in geosciences from North Carolina State
University. He says he always knew he wanted to be a scientist,
but it wasn’t until he got a job surveying beaches at Cape
Hatteras after storms that he knew which kind.
During the past 20 years, his principal
focus has been studying beach erosion and storm impacts. Two
major projects Leatherman
and the IHC are currently working on are the Windstorm Simulation
and Modeling Program, supported by more than $3.3 million in
funding, which is designed to reduce hurricane losses through
better information,
and the Coastal Processes Research Project, funded with a $1.3
million Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant, to better understand
what causes beach erosion, how fast it occurs and what to do
about it.
“
We won’t know what to do about it until we find out what’s
driving it,” says Leatherman of the beach erosion. “Everyone
thinks that’s an easy thing to identify, but it’s not.” The
need is pressing, particularly with the onset of hurricane season,
which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.
A prodigious writer and researcher,
Leatherman has produced more than 18 books and 200 scientific
articles. His latest book, Dr.
Beach’s Survival Guide, represents Leatherman’s latest
efforts to make the beach going experience a positive one for the
public. An easy read, the soft-cover guide discusses beach dangers — including
sharks, rip currents, overexposure to the sun, lightning strikes,
water pollution and stinging animals, among others — and
how best to avoid and/or minimize them.
Leatherman
wrote the book after being contacted by the father of a young
boy who died after being swept
out to sea by a powerful
rip current. Wanting to make sure his son’s death had not
been in vain, the man tried to have signs and diagrams posted
to alert the beach-going public about this dangerous hazard.
Fearing
negative publicity, city managers would not permit the posting
of such signs. “This sorrowful episode spurred me to write
this book,” says Leatherman in the book’s preface.
Whether it’s testifying before U.S. Congressional committees,
trying to solve some of Mother Nature’s riddles through scientific
research projects or educating the public about beach hazards,
Leatherman’s professional pursuits will be forever driven
by his fascination with “that magical margin of sea and
sand.”
Established in 1996, the International
Hurricane Center — the
only university-based hurricane research center in the country — conducts
research to help reduce the damage hurricanes inflict on people,
the economy and the environment. The center takes advantage of
its proximity to and relationship with the National Hurricane
Center, which is located on FIU's University Park campus.
For more information on Dr. Leatherman,
click here.
For information on FIU’s International
Hurricane Center,
click
here.
[ Visit
the Spotlight 2003 Archive ]
|