Coastal Science Assistantship winners announced

The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana (CPRA) has announced this year's recipients of its annual Coastal Science Assistantship Program (CSAP) for 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. They are:

• Dr. Chunyan Li, LSU: Monitoring and/or evaluation of the growth, migration, and/or decay of the West Barrier Berm, The Pelican, Shell and Scofield Islands.

• Dr. Ron DeLaune, LSU: Effects of Oil Spills on Carbon Sequestration and Microbial Activity of Coastal Marsh Soils.

• Dr. Malay Ghose-Hajra, UNO: Characterization of Dredged Sediment used in Louisiana Coastal Restoration and Marsh Creation Projects.

• Dr. Mark Hester, ULL: Marsh Soil Integrity and Resultant Shear Strength and Resistance to Erosion at Marsh Creation Sites.

The CPRA awards-which fund a three-year period of study-are intended to support academic research that will improve the planning, design and construction of coastal restoration projects, thus contributing to CPRA's overall success. In addition, these assistantships improve the CPRA's technical credibility by developing relationships with students, professors, and universities. These improved relationships allow for greater communication, participation, and integration between Louisiana higher education and the state's coastal protection and restoration program.

CPRA selects up to four new proposals each year for funding. Once chosen, the 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 2012 awards have offered a unique opportunity for a CSAP recipient (Dr. Li and his student) to work directly with Deltares, a world-renown independent, institute for applied research on coastal, deltaic, and riverine issues located in The Netherlands. Facilitated by CPRA, this partnership will provide for the exchange of expertise and technology to benefit Louisiana's coastal protection and restoration program.

Since the program's inception in 2008, twenty research proposals have been selected across eight different institutions including LaTech, LSU, LUMCON, Nicholls State, ULL, UNO, and Tulane.

For more information, please contact Jackie Johnson @ 225-342-4676 or Jacquelyn.Johnson@la.gov