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LSU Oceanography & Coastal Sciences Chair Selected as 2022 AAG Fellow
The American Association of Geographers (AAG) has selected Kam-biu Liu as one of 13 of their 2022 Fellows. He is one of two faculty in the LSU College of the Coast & Environment who have earned this national honor (including his wife, Nina Lam, Professor & Abraham Distinguished Professor of Louisiana Environmental Studies in the Department of Environmental Sciences), which recognizes scholars who have made significant contributions to advancing geography. Liu is the George W. Barineau III Professor and Chair of the LSU Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences and a highly awarded expert in the field of paleoenvironmental change, or climate change that happened in the distant past.
Under a Moon Spell: Shark Attacks Related to Lunar Phases
New research from LSU and the University of Florida suggests that more shark attacks occur during fuller phases of the moon. While the exact cause remains unclear, the researchers found that more shark attacks than average occur during periods of higher lunar illumination and fewer attacks than average occur during periods of lower illumination.
CC&E Congratulates the Fall Class of 2021!
On December 17, the LSU College of the Coast & Environment awarded degrees to 23 graduates of the fall class of 2021.
CC&E Superstar April Ellis
Dean Chris D'Elia and LSU alumna April Ellis discuss her time at LSU's College of the Coast & Environment and how it shaped where she is today.
Internships: More Than a Summer Job
Students in the LSU College of the Coast & Environment have received internships at major organizations like GeoCorps (TM) America, Geological Society of America, LUMCON, Louisiana Sea Grant, NOAA, NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and more. Our college offers many excellent resources for current students (and alumni!) to access during their job search. Learn more about the internships and jobs available.
Coast & Environment Grants and Contracts Manager Earns LSU Staff Stripes Award
Congratulation to Melanie Spinks who received a Staff Stripes Award from LSU Staff Senate this October! Spinks is a grants and contracts manager for the LSU College of the Coast & Environment, or CC&E, and the second CC&E employee to earn one this year. She was nominated by John White, CC&E's associate dean of research, and Matt Hiatt, assistant professor in the Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences.
Space Shuckin': Making Oysters Safer to Eat, With Help from NASA
Crystal Johnson, associate professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences in the LSU College of the Coast & Environment, knows a bacterium doesn't care where it gets its food--whether the ocean, an oyster, or the human mouth. She studies how microbes respond to their environment, including vibrios, which play an important role in nature's clean-up system. They break down organic matter in all aquatic environments--lakes, rivers, marches, and the sea--help recycle carbon, and degrade waste. Vibrios are everywhere.
In Memoriam: William "Bill" Joseph Gibson
The LSU College of the Coast & Environment mourns and honors the memory of the late Bill Gibson who passed away in September 2021.
Four CC&E Research Projects Receive Summer and Fall Discover Grants
This fall and summer, five LSU students from Coastal Environmental Science, Biological Sciences, and Biochemistry have received grants from LSU Discover to perform research with mentors from the LSU College of the Coast & Environment, or CC&E.
Alumni Spotlight: Camille Salters, Associate Principal Owner, Pickering Firm, Inc.
This June, LSU alumna Camille Salters (nee Golden), who earned her master's in environmental sciences in 2013, was promoted to Associate Principal Owner of Pickering Firm, Inc., a full discipline firm that specializes in facility design, civil engineering, surveying, transportation, and natural/water resources.
In Memoriam: Ralph J. Portier
The LSU College of the Coast & Environment mourns and honors the memory of the late Dr. Ralph J. Portier, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Environmental Sciences
LPB's The State We're In: LSU-Led Research Improves Hurricane Predictions
Interview with CC&E's Dr. Paul Miller about fascinating LSU-led research in the Gulf of Mexico that could help pinpoint the number of hurricanes we can expect each season.
The Delta Breathes: Mapping Carbon Along the Muddy Mississippi
Rivers and deltas can release significant amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming. But until recently, climate modelers have had limited information on this process. A team of LSU scientists, in collaboration with Southern University, have accepted the challenge of analyzing this complex carbon export in the largest delta in the United States--the Mississippi River Delta. The LSU team is led by Associate Professor Zuo "George" Xue and comprises three additional faculty members from the College of the Coast & Environment: Professor Eurico D'Sa, Associate Professor Kanchan Maiti, and Associate Professor Victor Rivera-Monroy, along with several graduate students.
Discovering the Link Between Mosquitoes and Low-Income Communities
In this video, meet Rebeca de Jesús Crespo and learn more about her efforts to protect low-income communities from mosquito-borne diseases.
CC&E Professor Among LSU Research Team Awarded $1.4 Million Equipment Grant from the National Science Foundation
A team from the Louisiana State University Superfund Research Program (LSU SRP), along with colleagues at the LSU AgCenter and Pennington Biomedical Research Center, have been awarded a $1.4 million grant through the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program.
LSU Coast & Environment Researcher Working to Improve Climate Change Impact Forecasts for Marine Ecosystems
A new international study that includes research from LSU found that higher resolution data are critical to predict how ocean warming will impact various ocean species and marine ecosystems. LSU scientist Cheryl Harrison co-coordinated the team of 23 international researchers from the U.S., Australia, Europe, and Canada, who produced this milestone paper for marine climate change impact projections. She is an assistant professor in the LSU Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences within the College of the Coast & Environment and in the LSU Center for Computation & Technology.
New Model by LSU Researchers Could Help Predict Gulf of Mexico Hurricanes
CC&E's Paul Miller is part of a team of researchers who have determined a way to forecast rough hurricane seasons in the Gulf of Mexico by looking at atmospheric temperatures in spring.
LSU Nurtures Coastal and Environmental Collaboration in Panama
For years, LSU and its College of the Coast & Environment have nurtured international collaborations with Panama to enable Panamanian industry and government leaders to make informed decisions about the conservation, management, protection and development of coastal and environmental assets.
NSF Awards LSU College of the Coast & Environment Researchers to Determine Climate Change Impacts on Florida Stone Crabs
The LSU College of the Coast & Environment, or CC&E, is leading a team of researchers that has been awarded $922,033 from the National Science Foundation to conduct ground-breaking research to identify how climate change will impact one of Florida’s most iconic fisheries, the Florida stone crab.
Dismukes Presents Draft GHG Inventory to Climate Initiatives Task Force
On July 29, Center for Energy Studies Executive Director and CC&E Professor David Dismukes presented a draft of the updated greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory report to a committee of scientists advising Governor John Bel Edwards' Climate Initiatives Task Force. The report will serve as a starting point to develop strategies for meeting the governor's emission reduction goals.
On Par With the President: Oceanography Nancy Rabalais Confronts the "Dead Zone"
What is the “Dead Zone?” And why is it growing in the Gulf of Mexico? CC&E's Dr. Nancy Rabalais joins LSU President William F. Tate IV to answer these questions; give a behind-the-scenes look at an oceanographer's life both on deck and below; and describe her journey to being elected to the most prestigious scientific society in the U.S., the National Academy of Sciences.
New Research Shows Pandemic Good for Recreational Fishing Due to ‘Social Fishtancing’
Recreational fishing in the U.S. is a hobby that scales up to a multibillion-dollar economic activity. At the beginning of the pandemic last spring as things were shutting down, fisheries science researchers at LSU, U.S. Geological Survey and Clemson University saw the opportunity to study how the pandemic was affecting recreational anglers. “What we found is people still fished and in fact, they fished a little bit more during the pandemic,” said LSU Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences Assistant Professor Stephen Midway, who is the lead author of this study that is published in PLOS ONE.
LSU College of the Coast & Environment Receives More Than $8 Million in Sponsored Research Awards
With research and educational programs spanning decades, the LSU College of the Coast & Environment, or CC&E, provides sound, unbiased research that enables leaders to make scientifically-based decisions that improve the lives of individuals and communities while preserving, protecting, and restoring our coast and environment for future generations. In fiscal year 2021, the college received 77 sponsored research awards valued at $8,322,662--a 54 percent increase in dollar value compared to the previous fiscal year.
EPA Appoints CC&E Alumna Cheryl A. Murphy (2006) to Serve on the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel (FIFRA SAP)
On August 13, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it appointed two new members, Cheryl A. Murphy, Ph.D., Professor, Director of Center for PFAS Research, Michigan State University, and Veronica J. Berrocal, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Statistics, University of California, to serve on the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel (FIFRA SAP). The Chair and one other existing member also were reappointed. These appointments, effective July 30, 2021, were made by the EPA Administrator following nominations provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
In Memoriam: James H. Cowan, Jr.
The LSU College of the Coast & Environment mourns and honors the memory of the late James “Jim” Cowan, Jr., Professor & Abraham Distinguished Professor of Louisiana Environmental Studies in the Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences (DOCS). He died unexpectedly of natural causes on August 11, 2021.