Research achievements
Dr. van Heerden's research has spanned the disciplines of sedimentary geology, coastal geomorphology, environmental and water resources engineering systems, restoration management, and hurricane planning and response.

He has led the New Orleans pilot study since 2002, convening a multidisciplinary research team and advisory panel to study the many aspects of complex disasters such as hurricanes and major floods. The topic of a hurricane strike in New Orleans had been discussed at center meetings through 2005, with early research outcomes and mitigation approaches shared among other researchers and local, state and federal officials. Dr. van Heerden also reached out to the public through the media (2002 (1) (2) (3),(4), 2003 (1) (2), 2004, 2005) and to emergency managers (Hurricane Pam, 2004) to alert them of serious project findings, such as storm surge risk.

As a major component of this study, Dr. van Heerden partnered to bring in and advance the use of high resolution storm surge models such as ADCIRC to predict health and human life impacts on Louisiana and the Gulf Coast, as well as for a restoration planning tool. This prediction model was used by many agencies in emergency preparations for Hurricane Katrina, including the New Orleans Fire Department, who referenced ADCIRC outputs to evacuate residents in the final hours before the storm. It is now being used in many others areas of research in numerous disciplines.

Following Hurricane Katrina, Dr. van Heerden led the state's forensic levee investigation, resulting in the Team Louisiana report. This report outlined specific problems within the New Orleans Hurricane Protection System, and recommended improvements to move forward with repairs and reconstruct a better system.

He has led the development of the New Orleans project GIS and research model for the study of complex disasters. The project GIS was used extensively in search and rescue emergency mapping following the hurricanes of 2005, by military, medical and emergency rescue teams such as the Louisiana State Police.

Dr. van Heerden's research interests additionally include beneficial use of dredged materials, environmental restoration, navigation channel maintenance, and rebuilding and restoring the coast, for which he advocates for the inclusion of independent scientists.