Wednesday 18 February 2026, h.10:30, Room IDRA
Prof. Rodrigo Cienfuegos
Associate Professor, DIHA, PUC Chile
Principal Investigator, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Disaster Risk, Resilience and Recovery (CIGIDEN R+)
This talk summarizes recent and ongoing research conducted by my team within the Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering (DIHA) at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Following a brief overview of the department’s diverse faculty and research areas, I will focus on current efforts to characterize and forecast wave processes and their impacts on coastal flooding and beach/river inlet evolution along Chile’s highly dynamic central coast. In particular, I will present findings from the interannual monitoring of the Intermittently Open/Closed Estuary (IOCE) at Cáhuil. This case study serves to illustrate the complex riverine-wave and morphodynamic interactions characteristic of micro-tidal, wave-dominated environments.