Kimberly Huguenard

Kimberly Huguenard, Ph.D., is a coastal engineer and Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maine. An observationalist by training, she specializes in understanding how extreme events such as storm surge, tides, and compound flooding influence coastal and estuarine systems. Her past research has been grounded in fundamental studies of turbulence and mixing in estuaries and river plumes, where she uses field instrumentation to capture fine-scale processes that shape estuarine circulation, stratification, and mixing.

Dr. Huguenard also connects fundamental and applied science with solutions for coastal resilience and renewable energy. Her applied research explores nature-based strategies such as living shorelines, hydrodynamic interactions with aquaculture systems, and offshore wind, including studies of floating wind farms and predictive wave-forecasting tools. She collaborates widely across engineering, biology, social science, oceanography, and community partnerships, and she has led citizen science initiatives that engage coastal residents in monitoring storm surge and flooding. Through these efforts, she translates fundamental discoveries into applied frameworks that help coastal communities adapt to rising seas, intensifying storms, and the transition to sustainable energy.

Awards

• American Society of Civil Engineer (ASCE) Young Engineer of the Year Award

Affiliations

• 2019-Present Affiliated Faculty, Aquaculture Research Institute, University of Maine
• 2019-Present Cooperating Faculty, School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine
• 2019-Present Cooperating Faculty, Advanced Structure and Composite Center, University of Maine

Licenses

• Engineer-in-training (EIT)