When “coastal engineering” was recognized as a new discipline in 1950, the significant wave concept was the basic tool in dealing with wave actions on beach and structures. Description of sea waves as the random process with spectral and statistical analysis was gradually introduced in various engineering problems in coastal engineering through the 1970s and 1980s. Nowadays the random wave concept plays the central role in engineering manuals for maritime structure designs. The present paper overviews the historical development of random wave concept and its applications in coastal engineering.

(Communicated by Kiyoshi HORIKAWA, M.J.A.)