Rate My Professor Alexander Yankovsky

Alexander Yankovsky is a Professor in the School of the Earth, Ocean and Environment at the University of South Carolina. He received his Ph.D. in Physical-Mathematical Sciences/Geophysics from the Marine Hydrophysical Institute in Sevastopol, USSR, in 1991 under Prof. Vitaly A. Ivanov, and his M.S. in Oceanography with honors from Moscow State University in 1986 under Prof. Alexei D. Dobrovol’sky. His professional career includes serving as Assistant Professor at Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center from 1999 to 2006, Associate Research Scientist and Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Delaware Graduate College of Marine Studies from 1996 to 1999, Visiting Investigator at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 1993 to 1996, and various research positions at the Marine Hydrophysical Institute from 1991 to 1994. At the University of South Carolina, he joined as Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences in 2006, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012, and to Professor in the School of the Earth, Ocean and Environment in 2020.

Yankovsky's research focuses on physical oceanography, particularly flow dynamics on continental shelves, in marginal seas, and estuaries. This encompasses wind- and buoyancy-driven currents, transient and time-variable processes, long waves and wave-current interactions, mesoscale variability, and the adjustment of waves and currents to topographic and coastline features, employing numerical modeling and analysis of observational data. Key publications include 'A simple theory for the fate of buoyant coastal discharges' (Journal of Physical Oceanography, 1997, 566 citations), 'Impact of variable inflow on the dynamics of a coastal buoyant plume' (Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 2001, 97 citations), 'The cross-shelf regime of a wind-driven supercritical river plume' (Journal of Physical Oceanography, 2024), 'Forcing conditions of cross-shelf plumes on a wide continental shelf, Winyah Bay, South Atlantic Bight' (Remote Sensing of Environment, 2024), and 'Offshore spreading of a supercritical plume under upwelling wind forcing: a case study of the Winyah Bay outflow' (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2022). He has served as principal investigator on multiple NSF grants, including Collaborative Research: Dynamics of Cross-Shelf Plumes under Upwelling Wind Conditions ($867,987, 2022–2026) and Large-scale edge waves generated by hurricane landfall ($231,252, 2008–2012), as well as University of South Carolina ASPIRE grants. Yankovsky has mentored undergraduate researchers through Magellan Scholar awards and NSF REU supplements, contributing to advancements in coastal circulation, river plumes, and tidal dynamics.