The Texas Sea Grant College Program at Texas A&M University will award over $8,900 in research grants to 13 undergraduate students at Texas A&M University and Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG).

The students are funded as part of the Texas Sea Grant Scholars Program, which designates scholars from among those selected for the LAUNCH: Undergraduate Research Scholars Program, whose proposal topic, from any discipline, is related to the marine environment. Recipients receive up to an additional $1,000 from the Texas Sea Grant Scholars Program to supplement their research budgets.

The goal of the program is to encourage motivated undergraduate students to participate in research and to give them the opportunity to communicate their findings as principal authors to the university’s scholarly community.

The 2021-22 Texas Sea Grant Scholars Program recipients, their respective fields of study, university and projects are listed below:

• Hunter Adams, Oceanography, Texas A&M, “Nitrous Oxide Concentrations and Relationships Near Deepwater Horizon”
• Jake Ballard, Marine Biology, TAMUG, “Describing the Impacts of Wastewater Effluent on the Community Dynamics Phytoplankton”
• Jake Ballard, Marine Biology, TAMUG, “Documenting of Sterols, PAHs, and PCBs on Galveston Island Beaches”
• Barrett Chambers, Marine Biology & Marine Fisheries, TAMUG, “Historical Species Assemblages of Gar in Texas Bays”
• Anna DeMotte, Marine Biology, TAMUG, “Historical Species Assemblages of Gar in Texas Bays”
• Emily Edge, Environmental Sciences, Texas A&M, “Stable Isotope Spatial Variability Comparison in Proteinacious Coral throughout the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre Based on Particulate Surface”
• Nathan Klobusnik, Marine Biology, TAMUG, “Characterization of the Subsurface Microbial Communities Inhabiting a Blue Hole”
• Shaley Klumker, Marine Biology & Marine Fisheries, TAMUG, “The Impacts of Perfluorooctanes (PFOS) on Phytoplankton Species Composition in Texas Coast Ecosystems”
• Bret Marek, Marine Biology, TAMUG, “Documenting of Sterols, PAHs, and PCBs on Galveston Island Beaches”
• Jared Martin, Marine Biology, TAMUG, “Documenting of Sterols, PAHs, and PCBs on Galveston Island Beaches”
• Jose Martinez, Oceanography, Texas A&M, “Seawater Carbonate Chemistry in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Gulf of Mexico”
• Alexis Mitchell, Marine Biology, TAMUG, “Growth & Physiological Impacts of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) on Native Phytoplankton Species of Galveston Bay”
• Bailey Skinner, Environmental Sciences, Texas A&M, “Modeling Ocean Acidification by Determining Aragonite Saturation State from more Easily Accessible Environmental Factors”

For more information about the Texas Sea Grant Scholars Program, visit tx.ag/TXSGScholars.

Pictured in thumbnail: Anna DeMotte (TAMUG, Marine Biology major)

Media Contact:

Sara Carney, Communications Manager, Texas Sea Grant, scarney@tamu.edu, 713-435-9585