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- The Center for Coastal Studies (CCS),
under the direction of Dr. John W. "Wes" Tunnell Jr., continues
a rapid expansion and is fast becoming Texas' premier center for
coastal and marine research. In 1995, the center brought in more
than $758,000 in grants and contracts, a return of almost $4 for
each $1 the state invested ($207,000). That trend continued in
1996-97. In 1997, the center had its biggest funding year ever,
for the first time topping $1 million for new research contracts
and grants. That made for a return ratio of nearly 6 to 1 on state
money invested.
- The Center for Coastal Studies has a rich tradition of
funding student researchers. In 1996, the center funded 30 graduate
and undergraduate research assistants and co-op students. In 1997,
that number grew to 43, more than any year since the center's inception
in 1984.
- CCS's Flower Garden Ocean Research Project is a consortium
of scientists and oil and gas producers who cooperate in conducting
important research from offshore oil and gas platforms. Dr.
Quenton Dokken, associate director of CCS, heads the program
which is used as a model to create a global network of offshore
research stations, founded on cooperation between the scientific
community and private industry.
- Dr. Robert Benson, director of the Center for Bioacoustics at
the University's Conrad Blutcher Institute for Surveying and Science,
studies how sound impacts the environment. Recent research projects
include studies into the effect of vehicular traffic noise on breeding
habits of the Golden-Cheeked Warbler, how low-frequency sound affects
sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico and the role of passive acoustics
in locating and assessing offshore shrimp populations. Benson also
maintains a collection of animal sounds from Texas, Mexico and
South America that includes sounds from more than 1,000 species.
- Geographic Information Science (GIS) faculty and students
have been contracted by NASA to map a portion of Mars using advanced
GIS technology. The Mars Mapping Project focuses on what appear
to be enormous ancient river channels and is being done in the
context of a mapping effort by a worldwide community of geologists. Dr.
Kit Price and a student co-author will present findings during
the 1998 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference at the Johnson
Space Center in Houston.
- In 1995, A&M-Corpus Christi received a
$1.6 million Title III grant from the U.S. Department of Education's
highly competitive Strengthening
Institutions Program for Hispanic-Serving Institutions. The
grant, written by Professor of English Dr. Veronica Guerra,
received a score of 100, the highest possible. The grant funds
a five-year program to improve student retention, including a comprehensive
program of faculty and staff training in non-traditional teaching
practices, writing across the curriculum and cultural diversity.
It will enable the University to better serve its constituents
at a time when state resources are scarce and an increasing number
of students with diverse needs are knocking on our doors.
- One of the newest programs in University Outreach targets mostly
minority children and their parents in one of the city's economically
disadvantaged areas. Dr. James Needham, coordinator of programs
for Outreach, obtained the $20,000 grant from the North American
Association for Environmental Education for the project. The Urban
Leadership Collaborative works in five local schools with children
who live near refineries, teaching them about the safety issues
involved in living adjacent to a petrochemical plant.
- Dr. Virender Sharma, assistant professor of chemistry,
is examining new ways to remove common pollutants from wastewater.
The joint project with the Corpus Christi Army Depot has shown
great promise in its initial stages. Sharma and the depot are currently
working on practical applications for what they've discovered.
Results could save cities and other organizations millions of dollars
in water treatment costs as well as provide greater protection
to the environment.
- Nursing Workforce: Beyond 2000, under the leadership of Dr.
Claudia Johnston, is a collaborative project designed to
ensure that the area's healthcare challenges are spotted far
enough in advance to be met. The 40-member consortium of hospitals,
education providers and others is building two Geographic Information
Systems (GIS): a Health Risk Profile of the region's population
over a 15-county area that can be used to project the area's
healthcare needs decades from now; and a Nursing Workforce Profile
that can evaluate current nursing capabilities and forecast educational
needs. The GIS programs store and link information--demographics,
locations, statistics--with computer graphic mapping features.
The combination allows a wide range of information processing,
display and forecasting operations. Funding partners include
the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Coastal Bend
Community Foundation, Driscoll Children's Hospital, Spohn Health
System and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
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Dr. Virender Sharma and students examine new ways to remove
common pollutants from wastewater.
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Work at the Center for Coastal Studies focuses on applied coastal
and marine studies--topics of practical use for the people of Texas
and other states, as well as the international community.
CCS's Scientific Diving Program addresses the need for the development
and application of advanced field technologies--such as deep diving
techniques and submersibles--in studying the dynamic ecosystems
in the Gulf of Mexico.
GIS faculty and students map a portion Mars under contract with
NASA.
Nursing Workforce: Beyond 2000 is making sure South Texas' healthcare
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