Three TAMU-CC CCME-II Students Earn Recognition at NOAA National Education Forum for Cutting-Edge Coastal Research
Three Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi students who are part of the Center for Coastal Marine Ecosystems II (CCME-II) scholar program recently received awards at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Education Partnership Program 11th Biennial Education and Science Forum in Maryland.
Kate Gomez-Rangel, a graduate student pursuing a degree in Fisheries and Mariculture, finished third with her project “Investigating Fertilization Rates of Hybrid Eastern Oysters in Texas” in the Healthy Oceans category. Gomez-Rangel is also a graduate research assistant with the Coral Reef and Ocean Health lab at the Harte Research Institute (HRI).
Miranda White, a doctoral candidate in the Coastal and Marine Sciences Systems Program, finished in second place in the Weather-Ready National category with her project, “Exploring Coastal User Engagement with Machine Learning Models for Cold-Stunning Events.”
Angelica Ovalle, a graduate student pursuing a degree in environmental sciences, earned second place in the Resilient Coastal Communities and Economies category for her poster presentation on “Land Use Change and Implications on Estuary Health.” Ovalle is a graduate research assistant with the HydroEcology lab at HRI.
As many as 13 graduate students at HRI and TAMU-CC are supported by the CCME-II program, which provides necessary resources and opportunities for the students to engage in cutting-edge research.
The goal of CCME-II is to recruit, educate, train, and graduate a new generation of scientists in NOAA-mission aligned STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines, equipped to utilize interdisciplinary approaches to address issues confronting marine and coastal communities. CCME-II is one of four educational Cooperative Science Centers funded under the NOAA Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions.
TAMU-CC is part of a consortium of six universities that participate in the program, which also includes Florida A&M University, Bethune-Cookman University, Jackson State University, Cal State-Monterey Bay, and the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley.