Geoscientist Receives Funding for Graduate Student Research

Bingqing Liu of our School of Geosciences has been selected for the 2024 Coastal Science Assistantship program. The title of Liu's supported research is “Revealing phytoplankton diversity in Louisiana estuaries: A hyperspectral exploration with field, laboratory, and satellite data powered by spectral mixture analysis.” She will use this grant ($90,000) to support an Earth and Energy Sciences PhD student for three years.

On 17 April 2024 the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority announced the four recipients of its 2024 Coastal Science Assistantship Program. The Coastal Science Assistantship Program enables faculty members of Louisiana institutions to fund Master of Science students enrolled full-time at Louisiana colleges and universities who are involved in research relevant to Louisiana coastal protection and restoration efforts.

The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) awards fund a three-year period of study and support academic research that will improve the planning, design, and construction of coastal restoration projects. In addition, these assistantships help CPRA foster closer ties with the academic community and promote a platform for collaboration by developing relationships with students, professors, and universities. These relationships allow for greater communication, participation, and integration between Louisiana higher education and the state's coastal protection and restoration program. While CPRA makes the final selections and provides the funds for the Coastal Science Assistantship program, the assistantships are administered by the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program. Once chosen, faculty members select graduate students to work on the projects. These students are required to complete a master's thesis at their institution and a 240-hour internship with CPRA. The students receive a yearly stipend of $30,000 each (a maximum of $90,000 per student).