Oceanography & Coastal Sciences Directory

Department Administration | Faculty | Emeritus Faculty | Adjunct Faculty | Post-docs and Researchers

Department Chair

Dr. Kanchan Maiti Kanchan Maiti
Chair and Shell Professor of Oceanography
225-578-4531
kmaiti@lsu.edu
Research Interests: Carbon cycle across land-ocean continuum

Dana Sanders
Assistant to the Chair
225-578-6308
danasanders@lsu.edu

Sharon Butler
Coordinator
225-578-6455
sbutler@lsu.edu

Faculty (A-Z)

Amanda Achberger
Assistant Professor
amanda.achberger@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Microbial ecology, environmental microbiology, biogeochemical cycling, seafloor ecosystems

Sibel Bargu Ates
CC&E and Shell Professor in Oceanography/Wetland Studies
225-578-3334
sbargu@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Freshwater, estuarine and marine phytoplankton ecology, Harmful Algal Blooms

Nazla Bushra
Assistant Professor - Research
nbushr2@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Climate science, natural hazards, extreme hazard risk analysis, environmental sustainability, geo-spatial analysis, big data, Geographic Information Systems, remote sensing, statistical modeling, machine learning and AI

Helen Connelly
Instructor
hconne10@lsu.edu
Research Interests: Wetland community structure, barium toxicology, metals sediment biogeochemistry, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon toxicology, fish and shellfish population studies

Michael Dance
Associate Professor
225-578-1243
mdance1@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Movement ecology, fisheries science, population connectivity, stock assessment, seascape ecology

Ross Dixon
Assistant Professor
Ross.Dixon@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Atmospheric Modeling, Tropical Meteorology (Monsoons, ITCZ), Land-Atmosphere Coupling, Regional Climate Change

Eurico D'Sa Eurico J. D'Sa
Professor
225-578-0212
ejdsa@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Aquatic remote sensing, coastal biogeochemical processes, water quality

Cassie Glaspie Cassandra Glaspie
Associate Professor
cglaspie1@lsu.edu
225-578-0379
Research Interests:
Ecological interactions, environmental change, coastal ecosystems estuaries, benthic organisms

Sydney Goldberg
Instructor
sgoldb6@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Meteorology

Cheryl Harrison
Assistant Professor
cherylharrison@lsu.edu
225-578-6425
Research Interests:
Physical, biogeochemical and ocean ecosystem modeling, marine ecology, climate impacts, climate intervention

Dr. Matt Hiatt Matthew Hiatt
Associate Professor
225-578-6092
mhiatt1@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Coastal hydrology & hydrodynamics

Haosheng Huang
Associate Professor
225-578-5117
hhuang7@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Physical oceanography, coastal and estuarine circulation dynamics, bio-physical interaction

Dubravko Justic
Texaco Distinguished Professor
225-578-6394
djusti1@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Ecosystem modeling, biological oceanography, coastal eutrophication, hypoxia, impacts of climate change on coastal ecosystems

G. Paul Kemp
Instructor
gpkemp@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Coastal oceanography, coastal geology, sediment transport, coastal policy

Chunyan Li
Professor and Mobil Distinguished Professor of Marine Geology
225-578-3619
cli@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Geophysical fluid dynamics, exchange flows/transport, storm surges, weather systems

Wengui Liang
Assistant Professor
wengui.liang@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Extreme precipitation, climate extremes, climate dynamics, hydrological cycle, atmospheric general circulation

Kanchan Maiti
Department Chair and Shell Professor in Oceanography/Wetland Studies
225-578-4531
kmaiti@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Carbon cycle across land-ocean continuum

Giulio Mariotti
Professor
gmariotti@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Coastal processes, ecomorphodynamics, sediment transport

Steve Midway Stephen Midway
Professor
225-578-6458
smidway@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Fisheries ecology, data visualization, science writing

Yanda Ou

Yanda Ou
Assistant Professor - Research
225-418-8000
you3@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Process-based coupled modeling across the Land–Estuary–Ocean continuum; Water quality modeling; AI/ML applications in coastal systems; Coastal hazard prediction

Dr. Tracy Quirk Tracy Quirk
Associate Professor
225-578-6426
tquirk@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Wetland plant ecology, soil biogeochemistry

Dr. Nancy Rabalais Nancy Rabalais
Professor and Shell Endowed Chair in Oceanography and Wetland Studies
225-578-8531
nrabal@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Biological oceanography, benthic ecology, river-ocean interactions, northern Gulf of Mexico

Victor Rivera Victor H. Rivera-Monroy
Professor
225-578-2745
vhrivera@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Biogeochemistry of wetlands; ecosystem models; mangrove forest rehabilitation/restoration; climate change and variability

Bob Rohli Robert V. Rohli
Professor
225-578-6346
rohli@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Coastal weather, atmospheric circulation variability, weather hazard risk assessment

Robert Twilley
Professor
225-578-6710
rtwilley@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Coastal systems ecology, mangrove ecology, coastal deltaic floodplains, ecosystem design

John White John R. White
John and Catherine Day Professor and Associate Dean of Research of the College of the Coast & Environment
225-578-8792
jrwhite@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Nutrient cycling in wetlands/aquatic systems

Yang Xiang
Assistant Professor
yxiang@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Marine carbon and trace metal cycling; hypoxia

Dr. Kevin Xu Kehui (Kevin) Xu
Professor and Director, Coastal Studies Institute
225-578-0389
kxu@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Sediment Transport; Coastal Restoration; Geomorphology; Sedimentary Geology

Dr. George Xue Zuo (George) Xue
Professor (joint appointment with the Center for Computation and Technology)
225-578-1118
zxue@lsu.edu (Contact me for graduate student opportunities)
Research Interests:
Coupled coastal modeling, compound flooding, Earth systems, AI-enabled forecasting.

Emeritus Faculty

Mark Benfield Mark C. Benfield
Emeritus Professor
225-578-6372
mbenfie@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Zooplankton ecology, optical and acoustic sensing of zooplankton, computer-based classification of zooplankton, acoustical telemetry studies of fish and invertebrates

Chris D'Elia Christopher D'Elia
Emeritus Dean and Professor
225-578-7188
cdelia@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Nutrient dynamics in aquatic systems; estuarine ecology; coral reef ecology; algal/invertebrate symbiosis; science history and policy; math and science education; marine pollution; global climate change; analytical chemistry

Robert Carney Robert S. Carney
Emeritus Professor
225-578-6511
rcarne1@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Biological oceanography, research administration

John Day John W. Day, Jr.
Emeritus Professor
225-578-6508
johnday@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Estuarine Ecology, Systems Ecology, Wetland Ecology, Ecological Modeling, Effects of Humans on Natural Systems, Tropical Coastal Ecology, Energy, Sustainability, Urban Dynamics

Ronald DeLaune
Emeritus Professor
225-578-6421
rdelaun@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Biogeochemical cycling, Wetland Biogeochemistry, coastal processes, non-point source pollution, coastal restoration, soil-plant interactions, coastal marsh stability, sedimentation processes, wetland plant ecology, degradation and bioremediation of toxic organics, heavy metal chemistry, ecotoxicology, greenhouse gases.

Charles Lindau
Emeritus Professor
225-578-8766
clinda1@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Nitrogen transformations in flooded soils and sediments, stable isotopes, greenhouse gases, oil spill remediation, point and non-point pollution

Kam-biu Liu
George W. Barineau III Professor Emeritus
225-578-8203
kliu1@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Paleotempestology, coastal paleoecology, global environmental change, palynology and lake-sediments

Irving Mendelssohn Irving A. Mendelssohn
Emeritus Professor
225-578-6425
imendel@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Wetland and barrier island plant ecology, plant physiological ecology

Richard Shaw Richard F. Shaw
Emeritus Professor
225-578-3334
rshaw@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Larval/juvenile fish habitat and ecology; biological/fisheries oceanography; transport and recruitment mechanisms and coastal-estuarine processes; age, growth and mortality analyses, fisheries and global climate change

R. Eugene Turner
Emeritus Boyd Professor
225-578-6454
euturne@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Biological oceanography, conservation, environmental management, estuarine ecology, fisheries ecology, restoration, sustainable systems, wetlands

Nan Walker
Nan D. Walker
Emertius Professor
225-252-0338
nwalker@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Physical oceanography, Satellite oceanography, Estuarine-shelf exchange processes, Air-sea interactions and tropical cyclone intensity, Gulf of Mexico Loop Current and eddy circulations, Physical-biological interactions

Adjunct Faculty

Melissa Baustian Melissa M. Baustian
Adjunct Professor, USGS Ecologist
337-266-8500
mbaustian@usgs.gov
Research Interests:
Assessing how pelagic, benthic, and vegetated habitats of coastal ecosystems support functions of nutrient cycling, food webs, and carbon sequestration; influence of nutrient enrichment, climate change and restoration on microphytobenthos

Brian Roberts
Adjunct Professor, LUMCON Executive Director and Chief Scientist
985-851-2801
broberts@lumcon.edu
Research Interests:
Ecosystem ecology and biogeochemistry, particularly focused on terrestrial-aquatic and community-ecosystem linkages along the aquatic continuum; human-induced environmental impacts on aquatic ecosystems

Jacob Berkowitz
Adjunct Professor, USACE Research Soil Scientist
601-529-3115
jberko@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Hydric soils, wetland assessment, restoration, biogeochemistry, forested wetlands, beneficial use of dredged sediments technology transfer

Junhong Liang
Adjunct Professor
225-578-7031
jliang@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Physical Oceanography; Ocean Biogeochemical Dynamics; Ocean modeling

Marcelo Cohen Marcelo Cancela Lisboa Cohen
Adjunct Professor
786-449-9749
mccohen@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Holocene and Anthropocene history of mangrove dynamics, remote sensing, fossil pollen, stable isotopes and sedimentary features to reconstruct environments impacted by sea-level fluctuations and climate change

Dan Holstein
Adjunct Professor
dholstein1@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Seascape ecology, tropical coral reefs

Paul Miller
Adjunct Professor
225-578-2734
pmiller1@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Coastal meteorology; Hydroclimatology; Mesoscale climate science; Weakly forced thunderstorms

Dr. Kevin Du Clos Kevin Du Clos
Adjunct Professor
kduclo1@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Biological oceanography, organismal biology, biomechanics, plankton ecology

Havalend Steinmuller

Havalend Steinmuller
Adjunct Professor
hstein10@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Coastal wetland carbon and nitrogen cycling, mangrove encroachment into tidal marshes, sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion, blue carbon stability

Zhengchen Zang
Adjunct Professor
zzang@lsu.edu
Research Interests:
Marine ecology; sediment transport; fisheries ecology; planktonic food web dynamics