Current Projects

• Texas Sea Grant — Influence of floods and droughts on particulate organic matter quality in a subtropical estuary, Texas; 02/2018-01/2024. 
• Texas RioGrande Legal Aid — Identifying microplastics in wastewater discharged by Formosa; 01/2022-01/2023.
• CBBEP — Evaluating Potential Contamination of Port Bay; 09/2022-08/2023.
• Matagorda Bay Foundation – Evaluating photodegradation products of plastics nurdles and their toxicity in Matagorda Bay; 06/2023-05/2026.
• Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program — Occurrence, distribution and composition of microplastics in bays and estuaries of the Texas Coastal Bend; 09/2022-08/2024.
• National Science Foundation — Collaborative Research: NSF2026: EAGER: Is Plastic Degradation Occurring in the Deep Ocean Water Column?; 10/2020-09/2022
• Matagorda Bay Foundation – Microplastic concentration in sediments and waters of Matagorda and San Antonio Bays: Initial assessment and mitigation plans; 06/2021-05/2024.
• National Science Foundation — Collaborative Research: Transparent exopolymer and phytoplankton vertical migration as sources for preformed nitrate anomalies in the subtropical N. Pacific Ocean; 01/2019-01/2023. (Co-PI for Prof. Emeritus Tracy Villareal)
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — Gulf of Mexico Plastic Pellet Prevention and Removal: Nurdle Patrol Expansion Through Mexico and the United State; 09/2021-08/2023.
• Smithsonian — MarineGEO: Testing the links between energy availability, biodiversity, and food web structure in coastal marine ecosystems; 06/2022-05/2023.
• Matagorda Bay Foundation – Assessing the threat of tire leachate and urban runoff on Matagorda Bay fish populations; 06/2022-05/2025.

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