Young Coastal Scientists and Engineers Conference — Americas (YCSEC-A 2026)

The YCSEC-A conference was first held in 2014 with the mission of bringing together young scientists and engineers from across the Americas that are concerned with physical coastal processes for interaction, to stimulate collegial scientific discussion, and to provide a forum for encouraging feedback related to coastal projects in research and in practice. The conference has been hosted at the University of Delaware (2014, 2015; USA), Queen’s University (2016; Canada), Dauphin Island Sea Lab (2017; USA), National Autonomous University of Mexico (2018; Mexico), Oregon State University (2019; USA), North Myrtle Beach (2021; USA), Pensacola Beach, Florida (2022; USA), University of Wisconsin – Madison (2023, USA), Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) in Quebec City, Quebec (2024; Canada), and most recently at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (2025; USA). The next conference will be held at the Univeristy of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, Canada in 2026!

Thanks to generous sponsors, the conference is made as affordable as possible, with a small registration fee (usually $250/participant) including all lodging costs and meals for the participants. The conference generally includes keynote speakers from academia, industry, and the government; professional development activities; networking events; and a local field excursion highlighting the regional coastal processes at the location of the conference. Oral sessions are chaired by fellow attendees, providing valuable experience in moderating the flow of a session in a non-intimidating environment. The goal of YCSEC-A is to connect early, and some senior level, scientists in an informal, non-intimidating atmosphere, to foster networking and provide future opportunities for students and early-career scientists.

Who can attend?

As long as you are an undergraduate, graduate, or post-doctoral researcher, or at an early stage in your career within industry, government, or consulting, and your work is related to coastal science and/or engineering, no matter if you are just getting started on a project and only have the future plans to present, or you’re days away from defending your Ph.D. dissertation, this is the conference for you!