Professor Ian Townend BSc, CEng, CMarSci, FICE, FIMarEST, FREng
Visiting Professor
Professor Ian Townend is Visiting Professor within Ocean and Earth science and Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Southampton.
I work as an independent advisor on coastal science and engineering applications and as a Visiting Professor at the University of Southampton. Previously I worked at HR Wallingford, where I was responsible for strategic direction and development of the research capability. Prior to that I spent 13 years as Managing Director of ABPmer and 18 years as a consultant with Halcrow.
My own work is largely related to estuary and coastal systems and involves a wide range of interests including hydraulics, sediment transport, and geomorphology, as well as the associated habitats and ecosystems. My main research interest is currently the dynamic response of these systems to change.
I have worked on a wide range of coastal and marine studies in the UK and overseas. This has included: directing the UK’s first climate change risk assessment for government; acting as an expert witness for a number of major development Inquiries, developing and contributing to the UK estuary research programme; piloting of the application of risk methods to examine coastal flooding at a national scale for the insurance industry; and leading one of the first regional scale coastal studies in the UK that helped frame the subsequent development of Shoreline Management Plans.