The Coastal Research Center (CRC) was founded in 1996 by the Leibniz University of Hanover and the Technical University of Braunschweig and has since been a centre of excellence for researchers in coastal engineering and hydromechanics. The close cooperation of the four partner institutes forms the basis for the optimal use of the large-scale research infrastructure and for innovative developments in coastal research.
The CRC is managed by the board of directors formed by the chief professors of the four partner-institutes, one of whome is elected managing director for a period of three years. Subordinate to the board of directors is the operations manager, who is responsible for all organisational issues and the proper execution of the research projects at the CRC.
Managing Director: Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Nils Goseberg
Operations Manager: Dr.-Ing. S. Schimmels
Deputy Operations Manager: Dipl.-Ing. M. Kudella
The Leichtweiß-Institute for Hydraulics (LWI) of the Technical University of Braunschweig participates in CRC with its division Hydromechanics, Coastal and Ocean Engineering. Besides many research projects in Germany based on laboratory experiments and numerical simulations the institute stands out due to its international cooperation with notable scientists and universities for instance from the US, Taiwan, Indonesia or Japan.
The Ludwig-Franzius-Institute for Hydraulic, Estuarine and Coastal Engineering (LuFI) of the Leibniz Universität Hannover is a well known adress for research in river engineering, waterways operation and maintenance, harbour engineering, ocean and tidal hydraulics, coastal engineering, flood risk management, dike monitoring and environmental assessments in hydraulic engineering. These issues are adressed in large laboratory facilities or by a variety of numerical models.
The Institute for Geotechnical Engineering (IGtH) of the Leibniz Universität Hannover has a high expertise in structure-soil-interaction of offshore wind energy devices. Further research aspects are novel methods for dike monitoring and the characteristics of geotextiles.
The Institute for Geomechanics and Geotechnics of the Technical University Braunschweig (IGB-TUBS) is an important partner for coastal engineering in the CRC. Actual topics are soil liquefaction on caisson breakwaters and monopile wind generators, the dynamic behaviour of rammed piles, dike monitoring and the analysis of the geomechanical behaviour of geotextiles and sealing sheets.