Fall 2004

Vol. 11 Issue 2

DEPARTMENT NEWS DMES Fellowships Carrie Semmler, graduate student in chemical oceanography, has earned two fellowships, one from the Gertrude E. Skelly Foundation for $4,491 and one from Edward W. and Lee Hill Snowdon for $5,509. Pamela Christian, doctoral student in oceanography, has earned a $2,500 fellowship from the Gertrude E. Skelly Foundation. Luce Bassetti and Jill Roberts, doctoral students in oceanography, have earned $5,185 and $2,590 respectively, Edward W. and Lee Hill Snowdon Fellowships. Jesse Davis and Mikhail Dembicki, graduate students in ocean engineering, have each earned $6,000 from the Edward W. and Lee Hill Snowdon Fellowship. Kimberly Kelly, graduate student in oceanography/ coastal zone management, has earned a Gertrude E. Skelly Fellowship in the amount of $5,000.

American Meteorological Society Fellow Dr. George Maul, professor of oceanography and department head, was installed as a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society at the annual AMS meeting in Seattle, WA. Dr. and Mrs. Maul attended the annual awards ceremony in January and had a short vacation visiting the city where their second child was born. No more than 0.2% of the membership can be elected an AMS Fellow each year. Professor Maul was also listed in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers for the second year in a row.

Most Valuable Panther (MVP) Award Carmen Serrano, office administrator for the Department of Marine and Environmental Systems, was June’s Most Valuable Panther. Carmen is described as “The administrative keystone to our department” … “so helpful, kind, courteous, cheerful” … “at your service” … and as “the soul of the DMES office.” The staff and faculty of DMES states that Carmen “goes way beyond the normal,” … “works tirelessly to straighten our fiscal glitches,” … “works late in the evening and on weekends,” and “is truly adored by many with DMES.” Congratulations, Carmen.

Research Activities

Dr. John Trefry, professor for oceanography and environmental sciences; Robert Trocine, senior research scientist; graduate students Matt Alkire and Debra Woodall; recent graduate student Greg Delfosse; and Dr. Robert Rember, University of Alaska, a former research associate of Florida Tech, spent parts of spring and summer researching the potential, long-term impacts of offshore oil exploration and production in the Alaskan Arctic. The spring study was designed to delineate and quantify the offshore dispersion

of river runoff and suspended sediment during the spring melt. They also did sampling in the Kuparuk and Sagavanirktok rivers. The summer study was designed to further quantify the offshore dispersion of river runoff and suspended sediment as well as investigate the impacts of sea ice melt and onshore movement of offshore, higher salinity waters.

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FACULTY NEWS Dr. Iver Duedall, professor of environmental science and oceanography, and John Williams, hurricane researcher, spoke on “Hurricanes and Tropical Storms of the Atlantic Basin” at the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. John is also called upon to write articles that appear in Florida Today and Space Coast Living magazine. He also kept everyone on campus up-to-date on the many hurricanes that we experienced this hurricane season. Dr. John Windsor, Jr., professor and department chair of environmental science and oceanography, received the 2004 Faculty Excellence Award from the College of Engineering in recognition of his dedication and service to the College of Engineering at Florida Tech. Dr. Steven Lazarus, assistant professor of meteorology, has been invited to be a member of a Mesoscale Analysis Committee (MAC) being established, under the auspices of the National Weather Service Office of Science and Technology. The committee will address critical science and technology needs for high-resolution objective analyses of the atmosphere. Dr. Lazarus traveled to Washington, D.C in October 2004 to attend an organizational meeting.

Travel May 3–10, 2004, Christopher Kavanagh, research associate, traveled to Durham, NC and Pittsburgh, PA to collaborate with Duke University and University of PA. May 20–May 24, Dr. Lee Harris, associate professor of ocean engineering and oceanography, traveled to LaRomano, Dominican Republic to advise on beach erosion problems and artificial reefs for the Caribbean Coast of the Dominican Republic. June 1–3, 2004, Dr. George Maul, professor of oceanography and department head, and Dr. Gary Zarillo, professor of oceanography, traveled to Jekyll Island, Ga. to attend the SERA-COOS workshop. June 2–4, 2004, Dr. Lee Harris traveled to Nevis and Antigua to be an advisor for beach erosion problems and artificial reefs for the Caribbean Islands of Nevis and Antigua. June 15, 2004, Dr. Geoffrey Swain, professor of ocean engineering and oceanography, traveled to Jacksonville, Fla. to visit BFGoodrich® to discuss sonar dome research. June 20–24, 2004, Dr. Geoffrey Swain along with Chris Kavanagh and Brett Kovach, research associates, traveled to San Francisco, Calif. to attend the annual ONR Contractors Meeting.

June 22–24, 2004, Dr. Lee Harris, traveled to Galveston, Tex. where he was visiting a consulting site. June 30–July 5, 2004, Dr. Lee Harris traveled to St. Maarten, where he served as an advisor for installation of artificial reef units. June 13–July 10, 2004, Dr. Steven Lazarus, assistant professor of meteorology, traveled to Washington, DC at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction as a visiting scientist. July 1–2, 2004, Dr. George Maul traveled to Panama City, Fla. to represent Florida Tech at a COI meeting on Maritime Homeland Security. July 12–13, 2004, Dr. Lee Harris traveled to Bay City, Tex. to be a consultant and expert witness on Jetty Modifications for Corps of Engineers. July 12-13, 2004, Dr. Geoffrey Swain, and Arthur Touzot, research associate, traveled to London, England to attend the 12th International Congress on Corrosion and Fouling Control. July 28, 2004, Dr. George Maul traveled to Dania Beach, Fla. to attend a SECOORA meeting at the Naval Surface Testing Facility. July 14–24, 2004, Dr. John Trefry, professor of oceanography and environmental science, traveled to Sacramento, Calif. to participate in a trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Conferences and Presentations Dr. John Windsor, Jr., professor and program chair of environmental sciences and oceanography, presented a paper at the summer meeting of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography in Savannah, Ga. The subject of the talk was how the summer research program could be a great resource to coastal ocean observing systems but the lack of sensors off the East Central Florida coast minimized the contribution of Florida Tech to the development 2 The LINK

of global ocean observing systems. After giving the talk, Dr. Matthew Poach (B.S. Oceanography, ’89) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture stopped by to say hello and reminded Dr. Windsor that he had taken MFP (Marine Field Projects) more than 16 years earlier! June 28, 2004, Dr. Kevin Johnson, assistant professor of oceanography, traveled to Monterey, Calif. to attend a conference and give a Whole Earth Course presentation.

Editor George A. Maul Assistant Editors Carmen I. Serrano Christine Cyphers Fredric M. Ham Interim Dean, College of Engineering George A. Maul Head, Department of Marine and Environmental Systems John G. Windsor Jr. Program Chair, Environmental Sciences and Oceanography Andrew Zborowski Program Chair, Ocean Engineering Florida Tech Web Site

www.fit.edu DMES Home Page

www.fit.edu/dmes This newsletter may be seen in full color at the DMES home page. Call DMES at (321) 674-8096 Fax DMES at (321) 674-7212 E-mail DMES at dmes@fit.edu

Dr. Thomas Belanger, professor of environmental sciences, and Dr. Gary Zarillo, professor of oceanography, were awarded a $279,831 grant from the National Park Service beginning in fiscal year 2006 for a coupled hydrologic water quality model and septic tank study for Mosquito Lagoon. This lagoon is sensitive to influxes of pollutants from various sources because of its long residence time. It appears that the water quality is declining in the lagoon, and there are a growing number of biological impacts that seem to be caused by contaminant accumulation in the lagoon. The field studies should provide conclusive causeeffect data on the importance of septic tanks to the lagoon and would be useful to water managers throughout the state. Dr. Charles Bostater, associate professor of physical oceanography and environmental sciences, and director of the Remote Sensing and Marine Environmental Optics Laboratory was awarded an $85,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The grant supports a cooperative international effort to develop an international, interdisciplinary curriculum that directly focuses on remote sensing systems, moving robotic (Mechatronic) platforms and the system risks or uncertainties associated with the detection of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and humanitarian de-mining. The technology to detect these materials is also used to detect materials in marine and coastal environments. Dr. Bostater said, “The project will help to develop the necessary international and interdisciplinary talent that is necessary today and in the future to meet the needs of securing sustainable safe environments.”

GRANTS AND RESEARCH Dr. Steven Lazarus, assistant professor of meteorology, was awarded a $40,000 grant from the National Weather Service for atmospheric research. Dr. Lazarus and graduate student, Corey Calvert, will produce near-real-time sea surface temperature analyses using data from the GOES-12 weather satellite, which covers the Atlantic Ocean, and data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). They also will incorporate into their analyses sea surface temperature data generated at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction. Marine and Environmental Systems was awarded a $25,000 grant as part of the Florida Keys Coral Reef Monitoring Project. Dr. George Maul, professor and department head, is the project’s principal investigator along with graduate student of oceanography, Aurelie Moulin. During the past year she has participated in a data project to track bottom temperatures at 33 sites in the Keys between Biscayne Bay and the Dry Tortugas. Dr. John Trefry, professor of environmental sciences and oceanography, was awarded a $605,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Interior, Minerals Management Service, through a contract with Battelle Science and Technology International. The funding supports the fifth, sixth and seventh years of field research by Dr. Trefry and his team on the potential, long-term impacts of offshore oil exploration and production in the Alaskan Arctic. Dr. John Trefry also received a $20,000 grant from the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens Action Committee to participate in a study to determine the history of petroleum hydrocarbon deposition in sediment in Port Valdez, Alaska. This information is valuable to future management decisions for the port, which is at the terminus of the 800-mile Alaska pipeline. Dr. Gary Zarillo, professor of oceanography, was awarded a $30,000 grant from Offshore and Coastal Technologies, Inc. for numerical modeling of tidal inlets off Long island, NY. He and graduate student, Ken Connell, will apply a combined circulation and morphological model to predict changes over time at a tidal inlet. Dr. Thomas Belanger, professor of environmental sciences, was awarded a $67,348 grant from the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) to investigate septic tank (OSDS) impacts on the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon. OSDS could be a significant contributor of nutrients and bacteria to river and lagoon, and this will be addressed in detailed studies that conclusively prove or disprove cause and effect at selected sites. There are 23 million OSDS currently in use in Florida, and nearly 40% of these systems are found along Florida’s southeastern Atlantic coastline.

STUDENT NEWS Andrew Condon, senior in meteorology, has earned a $5,000 Mark Schroeder Scholarship in Meteorology from the American Meteorological Society. The scholarship is funded by Mark and Eve Schroeder. Mr. Schroeder, former research meteorologist of the U.S. Forest Service and the National Weather Service, could be considered one of the pioneers of fire meteorology. Applicants for the Schroeder award require at least a 3.25 grade point average and must show a clear intent to make atmospheric or related sciences their career. Andrew is interested in air-sea interactions, marine meteorology and tropical meteorology. Dr. George Maul, professor and department head, described Andrew as “one of the best students in the history of the meteorology program.” Melissa Steinman, oceanography student, is also with the Coast Guard. She has been deployed and spent the summer in Kuwait. She should be returning to school for the summer term of 2005.

Yolanda Fernandez, a graduate student, is visiting us from Spain. She is a Ph.D. student who received a fellowship from her home institution to study in a lab of her choice for two months and she chose to come to Florida Tech. She will be working on salinity tolerances of seagrass with Dr. Elizabeth Irlandi, assistant professor of oceanography. Douglas Guardino, recent graduate of ocean engineering, attended the Dynamic Positioning and MTS Symposium in Houston, Tex. on September 28–30, 2004. He won third place in the student poster competition. The title of his poster was Design of a wireless data acquisition system for model hull testing. The LINK 3

DMES Students Visit the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and the National Hurricane Center July 6–7, 2004, 14 rising seniors and Drs. Maul and Johnson visited South Florida after cruises on the R/V Delphinus were completed. NOAA’s Harold Hudson, “the reef doctor” gave everyone a lecture on reef restoration at the headquarters of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, followed by a tour of the lab. The following morning, Mr. Hudson took everyone out to Carysfort Reef for a snorkeling tour of damaged areas, natural areas and restored areas. Other than a nosey 8-foot shark, the dive was beautiful and educational—turtles, parrotfish and sheepsheads were in abundance. On the way from the Keys to Melbourne, a tour of the National Hurricane Center was given. The DMES group saw the building from the perspective of international newsmen, including the television broadcast room, the forecasting center and the executive offices. A great time was had by all!

FOCUS 2004 Hurricane Season in Brevard County, Florida In less than three weeks in September, Florida Tech experienced two hurricanes—Frances, a category 1 storm at landfall, and Jeanne, a category 3 storm when it, too, came ashore near Stuart, Florida. No students, faculty or staff were injured by the storms, but many homes were stressed. Physical damage from Frances was fairly minimal at the main campus. The Vero Beach Marine Lab, however, suffered extensive damage from Frances and Jeanne. The entire dune was destroyed and erosion was extensive. Several of the structures (greenhouses and concrete storage buildings) were severely damaged, and many of the experimental tanks were ripped from their plumbing and tossed about. Hurricane Jeanne destroyed the wave channel, completely de-decked the Indian River Marine Science Platform near Grant, Fla. and tore up the Anchorage. Fortunately, the Link Building was spared any serious damage, as were the boats and the R/V Delphinus. The montage of photographs in this section tells the story. View looking north at the Vero Beach Marine Laboratory.

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Below: Wave channel (Surf Mechanics Laboratory) after Hurricane Jeanne.

Evinrude Marine Operations Center (the “Anchorage”) after Hurricane Jeanne, including three photos above.

Indian River Marine Science Platform after Hurricane Jeanne.

Wind speeds as Hurricane Jeanne came ashore again near Stuart on September 26, 2004.

Right: James (Jim) Egan, (M.S.,’97 environmental science) is executive director of the Marine Resources Council which recently moved to the Lagoon House in Palm Bay, Fla. The Lagoon House suffered extensive damage during Hurricane Jeanne, including damage to the shoreline and lost siding. The Lagoon House was designed to be a welcoming center showcasing the environmental, historical, economic, cultural and recreational uses of the Indian River Lagoon and to be the area welcome center for the National Scenic Highways systems. Pictures of Jim and the Lagoon House, courtesy of Florida Today.

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SUMMER PROGRAMS Summer Camp, 2004 Marine and Environmental Systems held its first summer camp on July 18–23, 2004. Dr. Elizabeth Irlandi, assistant professor of oceanography, taught the students in the camp, which consisted of students in grades 9–12 who are interested in the environment. The camp was related to how humans have hindered—or in some cases helped—the Indian River Lagoon. They learned about beach erosion and sand re-nourishment, the consequences of freshwater entering into the Indian River Lagoon and the transportation and fate of pollutants in coastal systems. It was very successful and we are looking forward to next summer for another fun learning experience.

Marine Field Projects, Summer, 2004 The Marine and Environmental Field Projects 2004 and the Ocean Engineering Design Projects 2004 Symposium were held July 15, 2004 at the Olin Engineering Complex Multimedia Auditorium. Dr. J. Ronald Bailey, former Dean, College of Engineering, gave the welcome speech. Dr. Kevin Johnson, assistant professor, oceanography, gave the introductory speech and overview of field projects, and Dr. Eric Thosteson, assistant professor, ocean engineering and oceanography, gave the introductory speech for ocean engineering. Concluding comments on the Field Projects 2004 Symposium were presented by Dr. George Maul, professor and department head. Marine and Environmental Systems offers a unique curriculum of undergraduate marine studies, the highlight of which are Marine Field Projects. These intensive summer field and laboratory programs apply basic classroom knowledge to solve real-world problems. Three main elements are included in the program. The design, construction and testing of an ocean engineering project is required of the ocean engineering students. Estuarine and coastal-based investigations of physical geological, chemical and biological phenomena and their relationship to weather and climate are required of oceanography, environmental science and meteorology students. All the students participate in ocean cruises investigating coastal processes from Port Canaveral to West Palm Beach. The summer cruises are aboard R/V Delphinus where students conduct nautical charting, take tide and tidal current measurements, and check the water quality in the Indian River Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean. These cruises are led by Dr. George Maul, professor and department head, and Dr. Kevin Johnson, assistant professor of oceanography. After completing these cruises, the students present their findings with posters and speeches.

Oceanography and Meteorology Projects Oxygen and Water Quality Adviser: Dr. Thomas Belanger “Spatial dissolved oxygen dynamics in Crane Creek, Fla.,” presented by Jason Mandly. “Temporal dissolved oxygen dynamics in Crane Creek, Fla.,” presented by Aziza Khan. “Diurnal variability of dissolved oxygen in Crane Creek, Fla.,” presented by Ruth Caulk. “Stable isotope analysis: 15N ratios in Crane Creek, Fla.,” presented by Suzie Stempel. Multiple Sensor Monitoring Adviser: Dr. Brian Howell “Instrumentation concepts for underwater measurements,” presented by Marita Griffin. “Investigation of the Sebastian Inlet tidal plume using ROV,” presented by Matt Tanguay. “Spectroscopic measurements for monitoring in the Indian River Lagoon, Fla.,” presented by Florian Brehin. Seagrasses in the Indian River Lagoon Adviser: Dr. Elizabeth Irlandi “Production of seagrass in the Indian River Lagoon,” presented by Nicole Botto. “Spatial and temporal comparisons of seagrass in the Indian River Lagoon,” presented by Allan Padilla. 6 The LINK

The Cruises of the R/V Delphinus Adviser: Dr. George Maul. “Searching for groundwater seeps into the Indian River Lagoon,” presented by Charissa Stair. The East Coast Seabreeze Adviser: Professor Michael Splitt. “Cloud evolution and the seabreeze front,” presented by Jennifer Bewley. “Examining seabreeze frontogenesis using Petterssen’s frontogenetical function,” presented by Brian Zachry. “Hypothesized thermal circulation cell associated with the Gulf Stream,” presented by Andrew Condon. “An internship in broadcast meteorology,” presented by Suzanne Shaffer. Air Quality of Melbourne, Fla. Advisers: Drs. Windsor and Johnson. “Air quality measurements of ozone for Melbourne, Fla. and comparison cities,” presented by Sid Abel. “Particulate matter measurements for Melbourne, Fla. and comparison cities,” presented by Max Hoores. Ocean Engineering Design Projects – Adviser: Dr. Eric Thosteson. “SPROVER”—Surface Profile Remotely Operated Vehicle—presented by Jeff Birmingham, Nicolas Dugely, Niraj Patel, and Brian Smetts. Monohull “LOMAC”—the Littoral-Operation Multi-Purpose Auxiliary Craft—presented by Casey Connors, Austin Graham, Scott NaroNorman, and Johnny Sebastian. Autonomous Underwater Vehicle “Kamikaze”— presented by Justin Enjo, Lyndsay Freeman, Arial Nulph, Dan Oklay and Rafael Oller.

ALUMNI NEWS To All Alumni Please drop us a line to let us know what you are currently doing and we will publish it in our ALUMNI NEWS section. This is a good way to keep in touch with other alumni and friends.

Dr. Pawinee Chaiprasert, (Ph.D., ’96 environmental science), works as a lecturer at the School of Bioresources and Technology Thonburi in Thailand. He teaches in environmental biotechnology and conducts research on anaerobic wastewater treatment. He is head of the Waste Utilization and Management Unit. Jenna Santangelo, (M.S., ’00 oceanography/coastal zone management), is a senior scientist for Environmental Services, Inc. in Jupiter, Fla. Her firm offers a wide variety of ecological, cultural and due diligence services, www.esinc.cc. She specializes in marine/estuarine permitting issues, wetland determinations, natural resource surveys, agency coordination, endangered/threatened species surveys, mitigation planning, and mitigation monitoring. Douglas MacCullagh, (B.S., ’83 oceanography), works for the Naval Oceanographic Office in Mississippi. He started his career by doing survey work and instrumentation that included various sidescan sonar systems, current meter arrays, XBTs, bottom samplers and so forth. Later trips included cruises aboard NAVOCEANO’s own white ships, working with instrument sleds and more advanced sonar systems. Later he was named system administrator. In 1995 he helped write a Alumni News continued on back cover

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prototype multimedia environmental overview that attempted to provide fleet operators with mission critical information. In 1997 he helped build a cataloging system that traced products from NAVOCEANO and several other activities of the navy oceanography community. Presently he is in the systems integration division of the engineering department. Doug’s job is to get complex oceanographic and environmental information, increasingly dynamic and predictive, out to the fleet in a way that makes it easier and safer for them to do their jobs. Jeff Leed, (M.S., ’78 environmental science), started his career in the Corporate Environmental Resources Department at General Battery Corporation in Reading, Penn. He set up the hazardous waste compliance program and also compliance programs related to water, wastewater, solid waste, underground and aboveground tanks, toxic substances and hazardous substances, environmental assessments, various due diligence activities, soil and groundwater studies and cleanups, plant closures, landfill and lagoon closures and cleanups. In 1993 he established his own environmental consulting company, Leed Environmental, Inc. He works largely for companies within the lead industry. Most of his work is related to project management and serving as the technical project coordinator for steering committees organized to fund the remedial investigations, designs and cleanups at some of the largest lead-acid battery recycling and secondary lead smelting Superfund sites throughout the U.S. Brian P. Howell, (Ph.D., ’04 ocean engineering), is the Program Director for Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology at Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, N.C. Dr. Howell also teaches at this college.

YOUR ATTENTION

PLEASE!

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO OUR ALUMNI JOB SURVEY!

Send us your latest job description, address, and company information. Mail to Florida Tech, Department of Marine and Environmental Systems, 150 W. University Blvd., Melbourne, FL 32901-6975, or e-mail dmes@fit.edu. This information will assist us in updating our alumni records, as well as providing insight for course and curriculum changes. Any special comments or suggestions are strongly encouraged and appreciated.

To All Alumni Please drop us a line to let us know what you are currently doing and we will print it in our ALUMNI NEWS section. This is a good way to keep in touch with other alumni and friends.

College of Engineering Department of Marine and Environmental Systems 150 West University Blvd. Melbourne, FL 32901-6975

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