28th Biennial CERF Conference

Estuaries:  Tradition and Transition

Join us in Richmond, Virginia, USA, 9-13 November 2025

Register for CERF 2025! 

Please join us at the CERF 2025 conference on 9–13 November 2025 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. We come together in an inclusive and welcoming space to network, celebrate our work, learn from each other, and grow within our amazing field as we endeavor to connect science and society in the collective goals of preserving coastal and estuarine habitats, resources, and heritage. We hope you will join the large international group of scientists and researchers who will be attending the 2025 event!

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Call for Abstracts

Abstracts are due 28 April!

The Scientific Program Committee (SPC) for the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation’s 28th Biennial Conference (CERF 2025) invites you to submit an abstract for an oral or poster presentation in one of the range of sessions that examines new findings across CERF’s scientific, management, and educational areas of focus.

The theme for the CERF 2025 Conference is “Estuaries: Tradition and Transition” to encompass the history of estuarine research while understanding emerging challenges and future opportunities. Our planned program draws on the deep heritage of estuarine science in the Chesapeake Bay region, where we started and where CERF 2025 will be held, while also embracing how estuarine and coastal research, management, and education are world-wide and of more importance than ever.

Submit an Abstract

Coastal Design Competition

Call for Design Team Proposals Deadline Extended to 28 April!

The CERF Coastal Design Competition is an initiative inspiring students and faculty across disciplines to address community-based challenges of climate change. The goal of the competition is for university-based teams to propose research, design solutions, and innovative strategies to make our coastal environments more resilient in the face of climate change and other pressing challenges. The Coastal Design Competition focuses on critical issues such as coastal settlement, ecosystem restoration, flood protection, and economic development, while highlighting the capacity of faculty-led transdisciplinary teams to solve coastal problems and respond to climate change.

The competition requires an emphasis on data-driven design and actionable plans that work with and for the priorities of a coastal community in Maryland. The Coastal Design Competition organizers will work with community members to organize in-person or virtual site visits for the teams to maximize the priorities of the local community from the start of the design process.

Learn More & Submit