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Highlights

 
Latest Newsletter, 4th Qtr 2021

Latest Newsletter, 4th Qtr 2021

Check out our latest newsletter with features on research and activities from October through December of last year. Click on the image below to view digital format. Download PDF here. 
UT Leadership Comes to the Coast

UT Leadership Comes to the Coast

The University of Texas at Austin leadership, including President Jay Hartzell, Executive Vice President and Provost Sharon Wood, Vice President for Research Dan Jaffe, Dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies Brent Iverson and College of Natural Sciences Dean David Vanden...
Fun Facts You Never Knew About Coral Reefs

Fun Facts You Never Knew About Coral Reefs

We celebrate this Coral Week, November 28-December 4 with discoveries made about coral reefs and the fish that surround them by our Marine Science Institute researchers.     Similar to cryptocurrency, tiny fish called crypotbethics are fueling coral reefs Little known...
Rare box jelly that packs a sting is found in Port Aransas

Rare box jelly that packs a sting is found in Port Aransas

Scientific observations can happen when you least expect it. Dr. Brad Gemmell, a visiting alumni and Associate Professor at University of South Florida, and his mentor Dr. Edward Buskey, Interim Director at The University of Texas Marine Science Institute, were strolling...
Celebrating our Hispanic Scientists

Celebrating our Hispanic Scientists

This Hispanic Heritage month, September 15th-October 15th, we recognize some of our Hispanic scientists and celebrate their work and contributions to marine scientist.  Dr. Valerie De Anda is a Research Associate and is using computational biology to understand the microbial ecology...
Accepting Applications for Tenured Faculty Hire

Accepting Applications for Tenured Faculty Hire

The University of Texas at Austin invites applications for a tenured faculty position (Associate or Full Professor) in the Department of Marine Science. We seek an accomplished scientist with expertise in any discipline that investigates regional and/or global marine processes. Interdisciplinary...
An influx of new faculty at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute

An influx of new faculty at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute

As the fall semester kicks off, The University of Texas Marine Science Institute welcomes four incoming assistant professors to its ranks, Drs. Kristin Nielsen, Jessica O’Connell, Jordan Casey, and Simon Brandl. Dr. Kristin Nielsen is an aquatic toxicologist with a research...
New Nurdle Patrol App

New Nurdle Patrol App

Since the Nurdle Patrol Citizen Science Project was created in 2018, by the Mission-Aransas Reserve at The University of Texas Marine Science Institute, the effort to record and track nurdles on beaches and bays have grown into a large network with...
Celebrating our UTMSI Women in History

Celebrating our UTMSI Women in History

To commemorate Women In History month we spotlighted seven women who have made significant impacts or promoted advancement for UTMSI and the marine science field. Wildlife ecologist and artist Marcia Kier (now Marcia Hawthorne) painted scientifically accurate watercolors of biotopes displayed...
UT Austin and its Marine Science Program Is Once Again Named Among the World’s Leading Universities

UT Austin and its Marine Science Program Is Once Again Named Among the World’s Leading Universities

The latest 2021 edition of the World University Rankings by Subject is naming 41 subject areas and programs at The University of Texas Austin among the top in the world. In particular, Marine Science moved up from 24 to rank number 21....
Turtles headed for release

Turtles headed for release

The winter storm Uri caused damage and hardship across the state of Texas. The effects were felt state-wide include along the Texas shoreline as thousands of sea turtles became stranded in the largest cold stun event ever recorded. As of 2/22/21...
ARK Takes in Turtles - Freezing Temperatures Stunning Sea Turtles

ARK Takes in Turtles - Freezing Temperatures Stunning Sea Turtles

The severe winter weather caused power outages, road closures, water pressure issues. It is also having a dramatic impact on the local wildlife. The recent freezing temperatures are causing many sea turtles in the bays to become stunned by the cold....
Losing Land and What it Means

Losing Land and What it Means

The northern Alaska coast is losing up to 1.3 square miles of land every year to the sea which is equivalent to the area of Central Park in New York City. This loss of land has a dramatic impact on local...
UTMSI Marina Opens

UTMSI Marina Opens

The University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI) is very pleased to officially reopen its marina. The marina was created in the 1950s to facilitate easy access to the Gulf of Mexico and local bay systems. The marina serves the Institute’s...
Marine Science News

Marine Science News

2020 was a year to remember and we hope that you are all well. Please click the image below to view the Marine Science News, 4th Quarter edition of 2020.
Mapping Microplastics

Mapping Microplastics

Microplastics and plastic pellet contamination in local bays received national attend last year when petrochemical company Formosa Plastics agreed to pay $50 million in the largest-ever settlement of a lawsuit linked to the federal Clean Water Act. A portion of that...
Public Lecture Series Goes Virtual and Expands

Public Lecture Series Goes Virtual and Expands

The 2021 UTMSI Public Lecture Series is virtual and combined with the new Texas Science Festival. Free and open to science enthusiasts everywhere, the Texas Science Festival (Feb 16 - March 26) is a celebration of discovery and learning. Registration for...
Shining Light on Oil

Shining Light on Oil

A new study in Organic Geochemistry shines light on how sunlight likely changed Deepwater Horizon oil chemically and potentially made it more toxic and longer lasting. When the Deepwater Horizon well blew in 2010, it spewed 4.9 million barrels of crude...
Marine Science News, 3rd Quarter Edition 2020

Marine Science News, 3rd Quarter Edition 2020

Greetings, The weather is supposed to be cool this weekend, but the science continues to heat up. We have many exciting discoveries and news. Please click the image below to view the Marine Science News, 3rd Quarter edition of 2020.
The Eyes Have It

The Eyes Have It

Study reveals that Weddell seals primarily use sight to find obscure breathing holes Until now, no one knew how Weddell seals navigate the ice-covered waters to locate breathing holes. Finding their way back to a breathing hole under the Antarctic ice...