Meteorology student wins grand prize for virtual poster

Jan 28, 2015

Carlos Martinez, a junior meteorology major in the College of Geosciences, was awarded the grand prize in the Virtual Student Poster Showcase at the 2014 American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) annual conference, the largest geosciences conference in the world held each December in San Francisco.

The virtual poster showcase is for students who cannot attend the conference but who want to participate by sharing their research. They submit their posters to the conference and explain their research through a video on YouTube.

Martinez submitted “North Atlantic Atmospheric Blocking and Multidecadal Oscillation in CESM1LE Simulations.” The research reflected his work as a participant in the Significant Opportunities for Atmospheric Research and Science (SOARS) program this past summer at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. His mentors were Justin Small at NCAR, and Young-Oh Kwon and Hyodae Seo, both from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

“The undergraduate experience and education at Texas A&M University in addition to the SOARS program is surreal,” Martinez said.

“I never imagined being able to experience such an enriched involvement in the science during my undergraduate career. I say this with a heart of gratitude to my mentors, professors, friends, family and faith for the life I am incredibly blessed to have.”

Poster submissions are first judged by other students during the peer judging process, followed by an expert judging session. Martinez placed second in the peer judging and first in the expert judging. The final announcement names the grand prize winner.

For the first two placements, Martinez received a student membership in AGU, a gift certificate from Amazon, and a plaque. His grand prize is an all-expense paid trip to the 2015 AGU Fall Meeting.

Jan. 26, 2015
Karen Riedel
(979) 845-0910