Sankar Manalilkada Sasidharan, Ph.D.

Sankar is an Assistant Research Scientist in the Coastal & Marine Geospatial at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies. His research focuses on understanding how land use, hydrology, and climate affect water quality through dissolved organic matter (DOM), nutrients, pathogens, trace elements, and plastics in the coastal and inland waters of the southern US watersheds and the Northern Gulf of Mexico.  

At HRI, his current work includes studying the effects of climate change, sea level rise, human activities, and natural processes on coastal ecosystems, particularly along the Texas coast.  Previously he was involved in developing a harmful algal bloom (HAB) monitoring program using IFCB, evaluating factors affecting Vibrio growth in Texas coastal waters and its implications for public health, and various water quality monitoring programs.

Sankar completed his Ph.D. in Coastal Biogeochemistry at Mississippi State University, where he characterized DOM and determined its biogeochemical significance in coastal and inland waters of the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Following his Ph.D., he conducted research on developing an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) equipped with chemical and biological sensors to evaluate water quality, acidification, and monitor HABs and oyster reefs ecology in coastal waters of Mississippi.

He employs a combination of data science, geospatial techniques, machine learning, and geochemical tools to study coastal processes.