The 13th Symposium on River, Coastal and Estuarine Morphodynamics, RCEM 2023, was held at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) September 24-28. More than 200 delegates from 20 countries included engineers, geologists, ecologists, geomorphologists, biologists, computer scientists, applied mathematicians and water managers – all of whom study coastal, estuary and river processes.
The three-day symposium featured oral and poster sessions at the Illini Union, with keynote talks by Giovanni Seminara (University of Padova), Joe Calantoni (Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command), Karin Bryan (University of Waikato) and Amy East (U.S. Geological Survey).
Participants also visited the Ven Te Chow Hydrosystems Laboratory and joined a technical field trip to the Illinois Waterway Visitor Center at the Starved Rock Lock and Dam facilities, hosted by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel, as well as a visit to Starved Rock State Park.
It was the first time the event had been held in the United States in 18 years, thanks to the efforts of the local organizing committee, chaired by CEE Associate Professor Rafael Tinoco. Additional committee members included CEE Professor Marcelo Garcia, CEE Clinical Associate Professor Art Schmidt, Mechanical Science and Engineering Associate Professor Leonardo Chamorro, Geography and Geographic Information Science Professor Bruce Rhoads, and Earth Science and Environmental Change Professor James Best, as well colleagues from the U.S. Geological Survey and UIUC’s Prairie Research Institute, including Kevin Oberg, Jessica LeRoy, and Laura Keefer.
The next occurrence of RCEM is being planned for 2025 in Barcelona.