REU Projects
Mentors and Research Projects Available for Summer 2025
*This table will continue to be updated as more projects are developed for the summer*
Projects in this REU are organized into the three theme areas given below to help you identify research areas of most interest to you. It is important to note, however, that many projects may include components that span across multiple research areas.
Theme Area #1: Geospatial and Computational – projects that utilize tools like GIS, remote sensing, numerical modeling, data science, and/or programming techniques
Theme Area #2: Social Science, Policy, and Education – projects that focus on human dimensions of coastal problems, including education and outreach
Theme Area #3: Geoscience, Ecology, and Engineering – projects that utilize disciplinary knowledge of environmental systems and approaches to address coastal issues
Please see 2025 projects below.
| Theme Area | Faculty Institution | Mentor | Project Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | UNC-CH/ECU | Dr. Lindsay Dubbs; UNC Institute for the Environment Dr. Linda D'Anna; Environment, Ecology and Energy Program | Scoping marine energy for maritime economies Project Description: The student will use outcomes from focus groups that PIs, D'Anna and Dubbs, will hold with maritime economy stakeholders in spring 2025 to finalize a survey instrument aimed at assessing marine energy awareness, scoping the energy needs of maritime economies that could be met by marine energy, and identifying opportunities for communication. The student will distribute the survey through appropriate outlets and analyze responses. The student will be required to complete IRB training in advance of the internship start date. Faculty Expertise Area: Dr. Lindsay Dubbs is a Research Associate Professor for the Institute for the Environment at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Coastal Studies Institute (CSI), East Carolina University. She is a biogeochemist and ecosystem-scale ecologist whose research focuses on the influence of energy and nutrient dynamics on microalgae, macroalgae, and microbes in terrestrial, coastal, and nearshore marine ecosystems. She is the director of the Outer Banks Field Site (OBXFS), a place-based semester-long program for undergraduates focused on multidisciplinary approaches to the sustainable management of coastal resources offered by the UNC Chapel Hill Institute for the Environment and hosted by CSI. For CSI, Dr. Dubbs is the Associate Director of the NC Renewable Ocean Energy Program (NCROEP) and an Associate Director of the Atlantic Marine Energy Center, a U.S. Department of Energy National Marine Energy Center. Dr. Linda D'Anna is a Senior Research Scholar at the Coastal Studies Institute and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Environment, Ecology and Energy Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is an ecologist with training and experience in both the natural and social sciences. Her research centers on coastal human dimensions, including how social and cultural considerations can contribute to our understanding of coastal and marine systems, with a focus on values, well-being, and resilience. Utilizing a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches, her work relies on stakeholder engagement techniques to address a range of topics affecting coastal communities including aquaculture, sea-level rise, and marine energy. She is the associate director of UNC's Outer Banks Field Site where she teaches courses in coastal management and social science research methods. Dr. D'Anna holds a BS in Biological Sciences from Cornell University and a PhD in Ecology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. |
| 1 | ECU | Dr. Stephen Moysey; Geological Sciences Dr. Alex Manda; Geological Sciences Dr. Matt Sirianni; Geological Sciences | Sensing Salinity in Coastal Regions Project Description:This project will focus on understanding how coastal regions are being impacted by sea level rise. The project will involve learning how to use and deploy wireless environmental sensors and geophysical imaging to characterize salt in wetland, agricultural, and/or forested areas. A scholar working on this project should be interested in field work, data analysis, hydrology, and the impacts of climate change. Useful skills will include programming in Python or Matlab, GIS, intellectual curiosity, and the ability to learn from and adapt to changing research conditions. Faculty Expertise Area: Dr. Moysey is a hydrogeophysicist and Professor in Geological Sciences. He is interested in using novel methodologies to sense the environment and algorithms to extract and communicate meaningful information from the resulting data. Much of his work involves working with community members to make an impact with science around the world. Dr. Manda is an associate professor of Water Resources in the Dept. of Geological Sciences and Associate director in the Water Resources Center at ECU. Dr. Manda's research interests include assessing groundwater-surface water interactions, investigating hydrologic properties of fractured rocks and karst media, simulating groundwater flow in various media, and evaluating coastal hydrogeology. Dr. Sirianni is a hydrogeophysicist and an assistant professor in geological sciences. He is interested in investigating hydrological processes in the Coastal Critical Zone, and much of his work involves investigating the impacts of salinity on natural and working lands. |
| 1/2/3 | ECU | Dr. Ariane Peralta; Biology Dr. Randall Etheridge; Engineering Dr. Greg Howard; Economics | Coastal Agricultural Watershed Resilience in a Saltier and Stormier World Project Description: The overall goal of this project is to develop an integrated socio-environmental coupled systems model that captures the interrelationships between policy, farmer behavior, nutrient processes, and downstream water quality under current conditions and in a predicted future with more nitrogen and greater saltwater intrusion. We will use measured microbial nitrogen processing rates and watershed modeling predictions using SWAT+ to examine how land use management (cover crops, fertilizer application) and sea level rise influence nitrogen processes and coastal water quality. The REU scholar will focus on improving the simulation of coastal wetland processes in the existing SWAT+ model. The project could include participation in field sampling or an economics component where the attitudes of farmers are incorporated into the model. Faculty Expertise Area: Dr. Randall Etheridge Etheridge’s research uses environmental monitoring and modeling to evaluate and design systems to 1) increase the resiliency of coastal communities or 2) reduce the contaminants in surface water or groundwater to protect human and ecosystem health. Over the last nine years, Dr. Etheridge has served as a mentor for more than 90 undergraduate students completing capstone or research projects through course-based undergraduate research experiences or independent research projects. Dr. Ariane Peralta Peralta’s research program has three main foci spanning basic to applied microbial ecology: 1) examine how land use change, namely diversifying human-modified landscapes, influences microbial community structure for enhanced ecosystem benefits (e.g., water quality improvement, climate change mitigation), 2) evaluate how land use legacies influence plant-soil-microbial interactions, and 3) investigate how natural and anthropogenic environmental gradients impact microbial community structure and function. Since 2014, Peralta has mentored undergraduates to initiate data analysis of soil bacterial isolates and the total community composition at a long-term ecological experiment; ~120 undergraduate students participate in course-based undergraduate research experiences and 2-4 undergraduate researchers participate in independent research experiences in microbial ecology (virtual and face-to-face experiences). Peralta also serves as the co-director of an ECU summer research program that provides high-impact research experiences for undergraduate students interested in environmental and public health topics. Dr. Greg Howard Howard's research uses hypothetical and incentivized survey and experimental methods to estimate individual preferences for nonmarket amenities and agri-environmental policies. Dr. Howard has served as a mentor for two members of ECU's Honors College for their capstone undergraduate research projects and incorporates research study design in his undergraduate course in behavioral economics, which is taken by ~40 undergraduates each year. |
| 1/3 | ECU | Dr. Rebecca Asch; Biology | Climate change and multiple stressors in marine environments: Interactions between ocean acidification and changing seasonality Project Description: Climate change can cause multifaceted alterations in physical and biogeochemical ocean conditions, which can in turn have widespread impacts on the distribution, abundance, and productivity of marine organisms. Examples of oceanic variables that are affected by climate change include temperature, salinity, ocean currents, dissolved oxygen, pH, sea level, and nutrient concentration. While many climate change impacts on marine organisms have been documented, there is still a lack of knowledge on how multiple climate stressors will interact with each other. At times, these interactions can be additive. However, in other cases, interactions between two climate stressors can result in non-linear effects where their combined impact either far exceeds or is much less than the impact of the stressors if they were considered in isolation. The selected student will explore interactions between ocean acidification and changes in seasonal organismal occurrence (i.e., phenology) by conducting a meta-analysis based on the current scientific literature and/or developing a computational model examining these interactions. Faculty Expertise Area: Fisheries oceanography with focus on interactions between fisheries, plankton ecology, and climate combining fieldwork, time series analysis, and ecosystem modeling across spatial and temporal scales. |
| 3 | ECU | Dr. Jim Morley; Biology | Determining the age composition of an invasive fish population in Albemarle Sound, NC Project Description: The Albemarle Sound is a large brackish-water estuary that holds enormous importance to North Carolina. During the last 15 years, an invasive fish (blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus) has exploded in abundance and might be altering the food web in major ways. This project will be analyzing blue catfish otoliths in the laboratory, which are bone-like structures in the inner-ear that can be used to determine a fish's age. The goal of this will be to improve our understanding of age and growth characteristics of this invasive population. The student will also participate in routine sampling of blue catfish and other fishes in the field. Faculty Expertise Area: Dr. Jim Morley is a marine fisheries ecologist who examines how fish and marine invertebrates respond to climate and habitat disturbances. Undergraduate researchers in this lab get experience working in the field to sample the fish and invertebrate community in a variety of ways, and then analyzing the data they have collected. |
| 1 | ECU | Dr. Qubin Qin; Coastal Studies | Investigating Wetland Tidal Dynamics in Response to Sea Level Rise Project Description: Tides play a crucial role in shaping coastal ecosystems by driving processes such as sediment transport and nutrient distribution. Understanding how tides respond to sea level rise is key to predicting the future of coastal environments under changing climatic conditions. This project focuses on exploring long-term changes in tidal dynamics, including tidal range and tidal asymmetry, in response to sea level rise. The research integrates theoretical analysis, observational data examination, and numerical modeling to uncover how these changes influence coastal systems. Findings from this study will inform strategies for enhancing coastal resilience to sea level rise. The REU student will contribute to a focused subtopic within this larger study. They will become familiar with tide theory and the mathematical equations governing tidal processes, gain hands-on experience collecting high-frequency monitoring data, analyze observational and numerical modeling datasets, and develop essential data analysis and computer programming skills for coastal research. Faculty Expertise Area: Physical transport processes, physical-biological interactions, coastal environmental issues (e.g., eutrophication, hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, saltwater intrusion, contaminants, pathogen pollution, stormwater pollution, habitat degradation, and conservation of living resources), and model development (including analytical, process-based, habitat, particle-tracking, and data-driven/machine learning models). |
| 1/3 | ECU | Dr. Sean Charles; Coastal Studies | Monitoring the impact of sea level rise and local anthropogenic impacts on coastal wetlands Project Description:Coastal wetlands and submerged aquatic vegetation are particularly vulnerable to both global climate change and local natural and anthropogenic disturbances. The REU scholar will assist with monitoring the interaction of water quality, coastal erosion, and SAV in Currituck Sound to mitigate impacts of local development for NC Department of Transportation and will also assist in monitoring saltwater intrusion and vegetation change in different study areas in coastal North Carolina. The scholar will also focus on integrating remote sensing, field and water sensor data, so a student interested in data integration is ideal. Faculty Expertise Area: Dr. Charles studies the ecology of coastal ecosystems and in particular the impact of climate change, cyclones, and anthropogenic impacts on ecosystem structure and function. His primary interest is in maximizing the ecosystem services provided by coastal wetlands. |
| 1/2 | ECU | Dr. Fatemeh Rezaei; Coastal Studies Dr. Nadine Heck; Coastal Studies Dr. Siddharth Narayan; Coastal Studies | Exploring Ecosystem-Based Adaptation through Mangroves and Coral Reefs Project Description:The REU student will assist in analyzing data collected on ecosystem-based adaptation provided by mangroves and coral reefs in Fiji. The student will familiarize themselves with the concept of ecosystem-based adaptation as well as the analysis of qualitative and quantitative social science data collected from local communities in Fiji, including key informant interviews, focus groups, and a questionnaire-based survey. Faculty Expertise Area: Dr. Rezaei is a postdoctoral researcher at the Coastal Studies Institute of East Carolina University, specializing in supply chain sustainability and natural resource management. With a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering her research integrates modeling, computational analysis, and decision-making frameworks to address sustainable supply chains, and coastal protection strategies. Dr. Rezaei’s work has been published in esteemed journals like Forest Policy and Economics, and she has presented at leading conferences such as INFORMS and SOFOR GIS. She is particularly interested in applying her expertise to interdisciplinary research and academic excellence. Dr. Heck is a geographer by training and uses a mix of social science and geospatial methods to explore social-ecological dynamics in the context of marine protected areas and fisheries. Her research aims to increase our understanding of the conditions that foster effective protection and sustainable use of marine and coastal ecosystems. Her research interests include marine conservation, social-ecological systems, local ecological knowledge, and common pool resource management. Dr. Narayan is a civil and coastal engineer by training, investigating coastal hazards and sustainable adaptation solutions with an emphasis on making science relevant and applicable to policy and decision-makers. His research focuses on understanding and identifying where and how coastal ecosystems like wetlands and reefs can be restored and managed to reduce risks to people at the coastline. |
| 1 | UPR-A | Dr. Angel Acosta-Colon; Physics & Chemistry | Creating a more resilient community using LiDAR analysis Project Description: In the past, hurricanes that affected Puerto Rico (Irma, Maria and Fiona) the Cabachuelas Nature Reserve served as flooding attenuation and buffer zones that can help with the runoff and excess water. Las Cabachuelas Nature Reserve is a karstic forest and cave systems in Morovis, Puerto Rico. In hurricane Maria (2017) and Fiona (2022) the main sinkholes, that serve as a drainage system, were blocked by vegetation debris and garbage. This clogged incident created an astatic karstic lake that lasted months for Maria and weeks for Fiona. The depth was from 3 to 8 m, after 5 m the lake overflow the reserve and the Riachuelos community nearby. The study for this C2C-REU will the use of aerial lidar data to find the location and understand the dynamics of the sinkholes, drainage zones and community as starting point to create a mitigation plan for this reserve. Additionally, to the study for the mitigation plan, the creation of products is need for community and stakeholders, this can include 3D digital elevation models, 3D topographical prints, 3D fly through visualizations of the reserve/community as an educational tool for the citizens of the area. The development of the mitigation plan and products will help the Riachuelo community to face natural hazard challenges and become more resilient in the future. Faculty Expertise Area: Cave characterization in the north karst belt zone in Puerto Rico; relationships between geometrical, biological, and physiochemical properties as indicators of cave soil-guano ecosystems. |
| 2 | ECU | Dr. Eric Wade; Coastal Studies | Centering Community Perceptions in Climate Mitigation Strategies Project Description:The Wade Research Group is seeking an REU intern to join an ongoing study investigating stakeholder perceptions of climate mitigation technology introduction in North Carolina. As climate change mitigation tools are increasingly introduced o address the impacts on coastal communities, understanding the extent to which these tools may have differential impacts on communities is of growing importance. A one-size-fits-all approach to identifying strategies for community acceptance of these mitigation tools may lead to unintended social and ecological consequences. The REU intern will contribute to exploring the social dimensions of climate mitigation tools introduction. Working with the Wade Lab, the REU will (1) conduct a literature review to explore the extent to which social dimensions are considered in the introduction of climate mitigation tools, (2) analyze existing qualitative data from focus groups in Duck, NC, (3) assist with the administration of a structured questionnaire with Duck residents, and (4) perform preliminary analysis of quantitative data. The student will be able to work with existing members of the Wade Lab and community groups. Faculty Expertise Area: Dr. Wade is a marine social scientist and an assistant professor at East Carolina University. From Belize, his research and teaching program is motivated by his lived experiences growing up in the Caribbean and the region's increasing vulnerability to global environmental and social change. Eric has previously worked for the Belize Fisheries Department, Oceana Belize, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. |