Areas of Expertise
Coastal Engineering, Numerical Modeling of Coastal and Estuarine Systems
Education
Ph.D. Civil Engineering
Dissertation: Estuarine Influence on Tidally Driven Circulation in the South Atlantic Bight
University of Central Florida
December 2009
M.S. Civil Engineering
Thesis: Analysis, Modeling, and Simulation of the Tides in the Loxahatchee River Estuary (Southeastern Florida)
University of Central Florida
December 2005
B.S. Civil Engineering
University of Central Florida
December 2003
Biography
I am Peter (Pete) Bacopoulos. I am a native Floridian. I was born and raised in Hollywood-Fort Lauderdale (1980-1999). I went for higher education and did post-doctoral teaching and research at the University of Central Florida-CHAMPS Lab in Orlando (1999-2012). I am now located at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville within the School of Engineering, Taylor Engineering Research Institute (2012-present). My research interests are numerical modeling of coastal and estuarine systems to inform engineering, ecosystem management and social valuation of natural and built environments. My personal interests are food (cooking and going out, all sorts), drink (craft brew, especially IPAs) and outdoor activities (on water or on land), all of which are plentiful in and around Jacksonville. I love my parents (Peter and Ellie) who live in Ormond Beach and my twin brother (Kenny) who lives in Orlando.
Awards
Outstanding Dissertation Award, Department of Civil Engineering and Construction Engineering, UCF. Spring 2010
Graduate Student Teaching Award, College of Engineering and Computer Science, UCF. Spring 2008, Spring 2009
Outstanding Master's Thesis Award, College of Engineering and Computer Science, UCF. Spring 2007
I2 Lab Fellowship, I2 (Interdisciplinary Information Science and Technology) Lab, UCF. Summer 2006
Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, Department of Civil Engineering and Construction Engineering, UCF. Spring 2006
Affiliations
American Geophysical Union
American Society of Civil Engineers
Coast, Oceans, Ports and Rivers Institute
Chi Epsilon (National Civil Engineering Honor Society)
Omicron Delta Kappa (National Leadership Honor Society)
Grants and Contracts Awarded
Wang, D., Madani, K., Hagen, S. C., Bacopoulos, P., and Bratos, S. M. (2012). "An integrated climate change impact assessment tool for flooding of the lower St. Johns River." Two-year funding provided by the Florida Sea Grant College Program ($199,771). Subcontract to UNF in the amount of $11,434.
Co-I on 6 closed projects totaling $400,261.
Publications & Presentations
Hagen, S. C., and Bacopoulos, P. (2012). “Coastal flooding in Florida’s Big Bend Region with application to sea level rise based on synthetic storms analysis.” Terrestrial, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, 23(5), 481–500.
Hagen, S. C., Morris, J. T., Bacopoulos, P., and Weishampel, J. F. (2012). “Sea-level rise impact on a salt marsh system of the lower St. Johns River.” Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering, doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)WW.1943-5460.0000177.
Bacopoulos, P., Dally, W. R., Hagen, S. C., and Cox, A. T. (2012). “Observations and simulation of winds, surge, and currents on Florida’s east coast during Hurricane Jeanne (2004).” Coastal Engineering, 60(February), 84–94.
Bacopoulos, P., Hagen, S. C., Cox, A. T., Dally, W. R., and Bratos, S. (2012). “Observation and simulation of winds and hydrodynamics in St. Johns and Nassau Rivers.” Journal of Hydrology, 420–421(14 February), 391–402.
Atkinson, J., Roberts, H., Hagen, S. C., Zou, S., Bacopoulos, P., Medeiros, S., Weishampel, J., and Cobell, Z. (2011). “Deriving frictional parameters and performing historical validation for an ADCIRC storm surge model of the Florida gulf coast.” Florida Watershed Journal, 4(2), 22–27.
Bacopoulos, P., Parrish, D. M., and Hagen, S. C. (2011). “Unstructured mesh assessment for tidal model of the South Atlantic Bight and its estuaries.” Journal of Hydraulic Research, Special Issue on Coastal and Maritime Hydraulics, 49(4), 487–502.
Giardino, D., Bacopoulos, P., and Hagen, S. C. (2011). “Tidal spectroscopy of the Lower St. Johns River from a high-resolution shallow water hydrodynamic model.” International Journal of Ocean and Climate Systems, 2(1), 1–18.
Hagen, S. C., Bacopoulos, P., Cox, A. T., and Cardone, V. J. (2011). “Hydrodynamics of the 2004 Florida hurricanes.” Journal of Coastal Research, 28(5), 1121–1128.
Salisbury, M. B., Hagen, S. C., Coggin, D., Bacopoulos, P., Atkinson, J., and Roberts, H. (2011). “Unstructured mesh development for the Big Bend Region (Florida).” Florida Watershed Journal, 4(2), 11–14.
Bacopoulos, P., Funakoshi, Y., Hagen, S. C., Cox, A. T., and Cardone, V. J. (2009). “The role of meteorological forcing on the St. Johns River (northeastern Florida).” Journal of Hydrology, 369(1/2), 55–70.
Bacopoulos, P., and Hagen, S. C. (2009). “Tidal simulations for the Loxahatchee River estuary (southeastern Florida): On the influence of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway versus the surrounding tidal flats.” Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering, 135(6), 259–268.
Funakoshi, Y., Hagen, S. C., and Bacopoulos, P. (2008). “Coupling of hydrodynamic and wave models: A case study for a Hurricane Floyd (1999) hindcast.” Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering, 134(6), 321–335.
Dietsche, D., Hagen, S. C., and Bacopoulos, P. (2007). “Storm surge simulations for Hurricane Hugo (1989): On the significance of inundation areas.” Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering, 133(3), 183–191.
