Research Topics and Mentors
Learn about the research topics studied by students participating in Maryland Sea Grant's Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.
Mentors study a number of topics listed below. Click on a mentor's name for more information:
- His or her expertise, education, and contact information.
- A list of students that the mentor has advised and abstracts of the students' research projects.
Mentors change annually and will not be determined until March.
Benthic Environment
Research covers sedimentation processes and interactions with sediment-dwelling organisms and others that reside on the bottom for part or all of their life histories.
Climate Change
Documenting and investigating changes in hurricane activity, climate variability, and decadal- to century-scale trends using biogeochemistry of natural systems influenced by climate and numerical modeling.
Contaminants
Research addresses a diverse array of pollutants and processes that occur in the Bay using chemical, genetic, and physiological assessment.
Coastal Observing Systems
Research in developing new coastal sensor technologies for marine science and developing observing systems.
Environmental Chemistry
Genetics, chemical transformations, biogeochemistry, and nutrient cycling in the Chesapeake underlie the high productivity of the system and are an important focus of research.
Estuarine Processes
Linkages of physical conditions, nutrient inputs, plankton production, and fish yields are under study in both observational and modeling programs.
Fisheries
Recruitment, habitat, and stock assessment for managing important commercial fish populations are active areas of research. Other areas include aquatic species conservation.
Molecular Biology and Genetics
Research focuses on aquatic microbial ecology, microbial food webs, microbial cycling, composition and activity of natural microbial communities. Researchers use molecular and genomic approaches (rRNA, DNA, bioinformatics) to study aquatic microbes and quantify genetic abundance/expression.
Modeling and Analysis
Mathematical constructs and data analysis, including ecosystem models and remotely sensed data, are used to develop predictive tools on the function of Chesapeake Bay.
Previous Mentors
Below is a list of mentors who have previously hosted REU students, but are either no longer at one of the participating laboratories or not available to mentor new students.