Douglas J. Sherman

Professor

Education

  • PhD, University of Toronto, 1983
  • MS, Rutgers University, 1978
  • BA, Sonoma State University, 1975

Research Areas

  • Geomorphology

Bio

Douglas Sherman is Professor and former Chair of the Department of Geography at the University of Alabama (2011-2021) where he moved after being Head of the Department of Geography at Texas A&M University from 2001. Prior to that appointment, he was on the faculty of the Department of Geography at the University of Southern California for eighteen years, including three years as Chair and six years as Sea Grant Program Director. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto (1983) and was a postdoctoral scholar in the Ocean Engineering Department at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Dr. Sherman’s research interests are in coastal and aeolian geomorphology and sedimentation. He has published more than one hundred scholarly articles, and edited or co-edited volumes of the Treatise on Geomorphology on Coastal Geomorphology and Aeolian Geomorphology, and co-edited a volume on Coastal and Marine Hazards, Risks and Disasters. Much of his recent research involves human impacts on coastal sedimentation, hydrodynamics in the vicinity of coastal structures, and the physics of sediment transport, especially wind-blown sand. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association of Geographers, and the American Geographical Society, and has twice been a Fulbright Senior Scholar. He was an Associate Editor of the Journal of Geophysical Research – Earth Surface for seven years and is currently an Associate Editor for Aeolian Research and Journal of Coastal Research. He sits on the Board of directors of the Coastal Education and Research Foundation. Since 1986, Professor Sherman has won more than $11.6 million in external grant and contract funding, with work supported by the California Department of Boating and Waterways, NASA, NOAA, NSF, and US Army Corps of Engineers, among other agencies. He has written or edited 14 books, special topic journal issues, and lab manuals. He has published 90 refereed journal articles, most of which concern aeolian or nearshore processes, and has contributed another 48 book chapters and proceedings papers, 16 book reviews, and 38 encyclopedia entries, technical reports, or other publications, with similar emphases. Finally, he has made about 250 professional presentations or other invited lectures. Professor Sherman has been an external referee for 33 dossiers for tenure and/or promotion, reviewed manuscripts for 34 journals, reviewed proposals for 24 national and international funding agencies, was an external examiner for 7 international Ph.D. dissertations, and external; reviewer for five academic departments or programs. He has supervised (completed) seven Ph.D. students and ten M.S. students and has been a member of more than 25 other graduate student committees.

Selected Publications

Sherman, D.J. (2020). Understanding wind-blown sand: Six vexations. Geomorphology, 366, 11 pp.

Shuster, R.*, Sherman, D.J., Lorang, M.S., Ellis, J.T., and Hopf, F. (2020). Erosive potential of recreational boat wakes. Journal of Coastal Research, 1996, 1279-1283.

Swann, C., Sherman, D.J., and Ewing, R.C. (2019). Thresholds for windblown sand on Mars. Geophysical Research Letters, 47, 10 pp.

Sherman, D.J., Zhang, P.*, Martin, R.L., Ellis, J.T., Kok, J.F., Farrell, E.J., and Li, B. (2019). Aeolian ripple migration and associated creep transport rates Geosciences, 9(9), 19 pp.

Sherman, D.J. (2018). Megaripple/Flat Bed Transition in Rip Current Channels. Journal of Coastal Research, 85, pp.246-250.

Cheng, H, Yi, F., Sherman, D.J., Chenchen, L., Xueyong, Z., Kaidi, Z. and Liqiang, K. (2018). Sidewall effects and sand trap efficiency in a large wind tunnel. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 43: 1252-1258.

Sherman, D.J., Li, B., Ellis, J.T., and Swann, C. (2017). Intermittent aeolian saltation: A protocol for quantification. Geographical Review, doi:10.1111/gere.12249, 19 pp.

Hilton, M., Nickling, B., Wakes, S., Sherman, D.J., Konlechner, T., Jermy, M., and Geoghegan, P. (2017). An efficient, self-orienting, vertical array, sand trap. Aeolian Research, 25: 11-21.

Wu, Q., Su, H., Sherman, D.J., Liu, H., Wozencraft, J.M., Yu, B., and Chen, Z. (2016). A graph-based approach for assessing storm-induced coastal changes. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 37: 4854-4873.

Wang, J., and Sherman D.J. (2016). Cusp development on a gravel beach. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 75: 937-941