On research cruises, a chief scientist's work never ends. In addition to overseeing the science being conducted, chief scientists on oceanographic cruises have to request ship time from a limited fleet that frequently share equipment, get specialized and expensive scientific instruments and equipment from shore to ship and be responsible for scientific personnel, work shifts and even berthing assignments. "There's definitely a need to train scientists how to get time on ships and how to plan cruises," Texas A&M oceanographer Dan Thornton says.

Bigger is not always better when it comes to shaping the Earth. Volcanoes, earthquakes, and massive glaciers have certainly changed the landscape, but in some cases the agents of change are too small to see unaided. Throughout Earth's history, communities of bacteria have played a role in forming some of the world's oldest rocks. Texas A&M geologist Mike Tice and his students in the Evolutionary and Historical Geobiology Lab are studying modern bacteria under controlled laboratory conditions to gain insight into how their ancestors changed geological history and how life in extreme environments, such as other planets, might look.

Every fall, scientists begin to watch for signs of developing harmful algal blooms along the Texas coast, which can be counted on to upset the ecological balance, disrupt seafood harvesting, and pose hazards to humans and fish, birds and marine mammals. Texas A&M oceanographer Lisa Campbell uses an instrument that helps forecast the arrival and intensity of these unwelcome guests. Campbell, who also has a joint appointment in the Biology department, studies the red tide phenomenon in the Gulf of Mexico caused by an organism called Karenia brevis.