USM Represented at Premier 2024 Ocean Sciences Meeting
Fri, 03/15/2024 - 09:51am | By: Gabriela Shinskie
Pictured from left to right, Azadeh Razavi, Gabriel Hesketh, Dr. Jerry Wiggert, Brandy Armstrong, Dr. Diana Bernstein, Ali Emre Koruk, Ardian Rizal, Dr. Kemal Cambazoglu, Shihab Hossain Saran.
University of Southern Mississippi (USM) School of Ocean Science and Engineering (SOSE) students, faculty and staff showcased a variety of coastal topics during the biennial American Geophysical Union (AGU) Ocean Sciences Meeting held recently in New Orleans.
The meeting attracted oceanographers from around the world engaging in in-person networking and sharing research with the event’s approximately 6,000 attendees.
The SOSE Division of Marine Science (DMS) modeling group made 12 presentations featuring talks and posters highlighting topics related to a better understanding of the Mississippi Bight, Sound, and northern Gulf of Mexico.
Topics presented by this USM contingent ranged from the Bonnet Carré Spillway impacts, Pearl River dynamics, water quality in the Mississippi Sound, and the role of land-sea breeze circulation in summer surface heat fluxes. Drs. Diana Bernstein, Jerry Wiggert, and Kemal Cambazoglu were the lead advisors for USM students in attendance.
Dr. Bernstein, an assistant professor in SOSE, said the meeting provided an invaluable platform for USM’s faculty and students to share their research and engage with the ocean science community around the globe.
“The Ocean Sciences Meeting is a flagship meeting in ocean sciences and engineering. Attending the Ocean Sciences Meeting is a pivotal experience for our students,” she said. “It exposes them to the latest advances in the field, fosters collaborations, and provides networking opportunities that can shape their future careers in ocean sciences.”
“This was the first time the Ocean Sciences Meeting was held fully in person since pre-pandemic. I really enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues that I had not seen in person for over five years,” said Wiggert. “Our crew of students did a fantastic job of representing USM at this international venue.”
Azadeh Razavi, a SOSE student, presented a poster displaying enhanced hurricane impact forecasting and coastal hazard assessment through innovative uses in observations, modeling and real-time remote scenarios. Dr. Cambazoglu and research scientist Brandy Armstrong organized, chaired, and moderated a session focusing on strategies for combining innovative monitoring and modeling systems in coastal environments.
Dr. Cambazoglu expressed pride in the students’ presentation efforts.
“I can tell that they had an amazing experience sharing their work and engaging with other researchers, while also meeting with new colleagues and expanding their network as they get ready to start their careers in the near future,” said Dr. Cambazoglu. “And we all were very motivated seeing more than 2,000 oral presentations and almost 2,300 poster presentations with the most recent advancements in ocean science and engineering.”
USM students who participated included Brandy Armstrong; Gabriel Hesketh; Azadeh Razavi; Hafeez Oladejo; Ali Emre Koruk; Shihab Hossain Saran; Ardian Rizal; and Marc Diard from the Modeling Group along with students from other groups from the School of Ocean Science and Engineering.
“Our research at USM is at the forefront of understanding coastal processes in the Mississippi Sound that impact the marine ecosystem and coastal communities,” Dr. Bernstein further noted. “Sharing our findings at the Ocean Sciences Meeting allows us to contribute to the global dialogue on these critical issues.”
Learn more about the School of Ocean Science and Engineering.