Biography
Dr. James Steer completed his PhD in 2019 at the University of Edinburgh where he studied the effect of currents and direcionality on the nonlinear behaviour of surface gravity waves. He then spent three years as a postdoctoral research fellow at University College Dublin where his interests moved to breaking waves, their formation mechanisms, and their effect on coastal cliff erosion. James now investigates the ability of wave forecasting models to predict breaking wave onset and energy dissipation in crossing seas.
Awards and Honours
For his PhD, James received the UK Fluids Network thesis award in 2019.
Research Interests
James's research interests lie predominantly in nonlinear wave dynamics. Specifically, his research concentrates on breaking wave onset and energy dissipation, as well as wave forecasting. The research James has carried out has primarily combined experimental and numerical fluid dynamics.
Current Projects
The project, "Wave Breaking in Crossing Seas" seeks to investigate breaking wave onset, energy dissipation, and predictability in crossing sea states.
James's work within the HIGHWAVE project uses large scale numerical simulations to estimate the prevalence of breaking waves in crossing and directionally spread sea states.