Alumni of the CMSS program

Benjamin Johnston, Ph.D. 2019
Faculty Advisor: Feiqin Xie
Dissertation: Using COSMIC and TRMM satellite data for understanding the effects of thunderstorms on the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere

Nana Liu, Ph.D. 2019
Faculty Advisor: Chuntao Liu
Dissertation: Large-scale Thermodynamic Environments Favoring Intense Convection: a Perspective from Satellite Observations

Abishek Adhikari, Ph.D. 2019
Faculty Advisor: Chuntao Liu
Dissertation: Satellite Remote Sensing of Ice Precipitation Events

Zackary Olsen, Ph.D. 2019
Faculty Advisor: Greg Stunz
Dissertation: Defining Essential Fish Habitat in an Ecosystem Context: Practical Identification and Relevance to Management

Hongming Yao, Ph.D. 2019
Faculty Advisor: Xinping Hu
Dissertation: Carbon Budget in Coastal Estuaries of the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico under Hydrologic Control

Chuyen Nguyen, Ph.D. 2019
Faculty Advisor: Michael Starek
Dissertation: Development of Geodetic Imaging Techniques and Computational Approaches for Marsh Observation

Elaine Kurr, M.S. 2019
Faculty Advisor: Paul Montagna
Thesis: Focused Flows to Natural Nurseries in Texas Estuaries

Melissa Rohal, Ph.D. 2018
Faculty Advisor: Paul Montagna
Dissertation: Ecosystem Impacts of Oil Spills on the Offshore Environment in the Gulf of Mexico
Awards and Honors: First place Doctoral 3MT Thesis Competition winner (2017)

Hongjie Wang, Ph.D. 2018
Faculty Advisor: Xinping Hu
Dissertation: Drivers of Carbon and Oxygen Dynamics in Disparate Marine Ecosystems
Awards and Honors: 2017 Outstanding Research Assistant

Cole Castleberry, M.S. 2018
Faculty Advisor: Lee Smee
Thesis: The Risk Assessment Capability and Defense Induction Strategy of the Eastern Oyster Crassostrea virginica

Katherine Martin, M.S. 2018
Faculty Advisor: Jeremy Conkle
Thesis: Quantifying and Characterizing the Mississippi River's Contribution of Microplastic Debris to the Gulf of Mexico

Kieu Tran, M.S. 2018
Faculty Advisor: Jeremy Conkle
Thesis: Applying Segmentation and Neural Networks to Detect and Quantify Marine Debris from Aerial Images Captured by an Unmanned Aerial System and Mobile Device

Jacque Campbell, M.S. 2018
Faculty Advisor: Dave Felix
Thesis: Investigating the Isotopic Composition of Reactive Nitrogen in a South Texas Estuary (Baffin Bay).

Michelle Culver, M.S. 2018
Faculty Advisor: James Gibeaut
Thesis: Beach Geomorphology and Kemp’s Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) Nest Site Selection Along Padre Island, TX, USA
Awards and Honors: Second Place MS 3MT Thesis Competition winner(2017)

Jamie Smith, M.S. 2018
Faculty Advisor: Paul Montagna
Thesis: Multiple Stressor Effects on Marcobenthic Communities in Corpus Christi Bay, Texas

Elena Kobrinski Keen, Ph.D. 2017
Faculty Advisor: Richard McLaughlin
Dissertation: Status, Strategies, and Cost Management of Offshore Oil Rig Platform Decommissioning and Rigs-to-Reefs Programs in the Gulf of Mexico: Addressing Decommissioning Challenges Using a Multi-Criteria Approach

Ryan Rezek, Ph.D. 2017
Faculty Advisor: Jennifer Pollack
Dissertation: Ecological Structure and Function of Restored Habitats Across a Range of Coastal Environments

Kaitlyn Schroeder (Spain), Ph.D. 2017
Faculty Advisor: Delbert Smee
Dissertation: Dazed and Confused: Pesticides Alter Physiology, Behavior, and Predatory-Prey Interactions of Juvenile and Adult Blue Crabs (Callinectes Sapidus)
Awards and Honors: 2015 Sea Grant Knauss Fellow

Rachel Edwards, M.S. 2016
Faculty Advisor: James Gibeaut
Thesis: Rising Above: Impacts of Coastal Policies with Respect to Sea Level Rise in Galveston Bay, Texas

Lauren Hutchison, Ph.D. 2016
Faculty Advisor: David Yoskowitz
Dissertation: Operationalizing Coastal Wetland Ecosystem Services for Enhanced Decision Making and Resilience

Evan Turner, Ph.D. 2016
Faculty Advisors: Paul Montagna and Alexey Sadovski
Dissertation: Modeling Nutrient Dynamics in the Estuaries of the Gulf of Mexico

Brittany Blomberg, Ph.D. 2015
Faculty Advisors: Paul Montagna and Jennifer Pollack 
Dissertation: Evaluating Success of Oyster Reef Restoration 

Maureen Trnka, Ph.D. 2015
Faculty Advisors: Paul Zimba and Alberto M. Mestas-Nuñez
Dissertation: Associations between Chlorophyll and Wind Forcing in the Gulf of Mexico Derived from Satellite Observations 

Anthony Reisinger, Ph.D. 2015
Faculty Advisor: James Gibeaut
Dissertation: Suspended Sediment Dynamics of Texas Estuaries

Eleonor Barraza, Ph.D. 2014
Faculty Advisor: James Gibeaut
Dissertation: Increasing Resilience of Urban Development on Texas Barrier Islands

Bhanu Paudel, Ph.D. 2014
Faculty Advisor: Paul Montagna
Dissertation: Interactions between Suspended Sediments, Nutrients, and Freshwater Inflow in Texas Estuaries

Harriet Nash, Ph.D. 2013
Faculty Advisor: Richard McLaughlin
Dissertation: Trinational Governance to Protect Ecological Connectivity: Support for Establishing an International Gulf of Mexico Marine Protected Area Network

Hongzhi Song, Ph.D. 2013
Faculty Advisor: Alexey Sadovski
Dissertation: Geoid Determination in the Coastal Areas of the Gulf of Mexico

Natalya Warner, Ph.D. 2013
Faculty Advisor: Philippe Tissot
Dissertation: Estimated Increase in Inundation Probability with Confidence Intervals for the Gulf of Mexico

Gabby Ahmadia, Ph.D. 2012
Faculty Advisor: Frank Pezold
Dissertation: Elucidating Factors Structuring Cryptobenthic Reef Fish Assemblages

John Wood, Ph.D. 2012
Faculty Advisor: James Gibeaut
Dissertation: Hyperspectral Analysis of Seagrass in Redfish Bay, Texas

Keith Johnson, Ph.D. 2012
Faculty Advisor: Delbert Smee
Dissertation: Eastern Oysters Offer No Pearl, But They Might Be in Peril: Understanding How Lethal and Non Lethal Predator Effects Influence Oyster Distribution and Reef Community

Morgan Kilgour, Ph.D. 2012
Faculty Advisors: Thomas Shirley and John W. Tunnell
Dissertation: Galatheoidea and Chirostyloidea of the Gulf of Mexico: Diversity, Reproductive Biology and Molecular Phylogeny

Kevin Nelson, Ph.D. 2012
Faculty Advisor: Paul Montagna
Dissertation: The Relative Roles of Salinity Stratification and Nutrient Loading in Seasonal Hypoxia in Corpus Christi Bay, Texas

Maggie Dalthorp, Ph.D. 2011
Faculty Advisor: Thomas Naehr
Dissertation: The Geology of Gulf of Mexico Hydrocarbon Seeps: Structural and Stratigraphic Relationships of Hydrocarbon Seeps in the Gulf of Mexico and the Geological Factors Contributing to Sea Surface Oil Slick Formation

Bridgette Froeschke, Ph.D. 2011
Faculty Advisor: Greg Stunz
Dissertation: Assessment of Past, Present, and Future Status of Southern Flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) in Texas Using a Time Series and Quantitative Modeling Approach

Sandra Arismendez, Ph.D. 2010
Faculty Advisors: Paul Montagna and John W. Tunnell
Dissertation: Land-Water Nutrient Coupling Processes in Central Texas Estuaries

John Froeschke, Ph.D. 2010
Faculty Advisors: Greg Stunz and Mark Wildhaber
Dissertation: Defining Essential Fish Habitat: The Influence of Life History, Biotic, and Abiotic Factors

Peter Etnoyer, Ph.D. 2009
Faculty Advisor: Thomas Shirley
Dissertation: Distribution and Diversity of Octocorals in the Gulf of Mexico

Oscar Garcia-Pineda, Ph.D. 2009
Faculty Advisor: Ian MacDonald
Dissertation: Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Oil Slicks in the Gulf of Mexico Based on Remote Sensing