UMCES Experts for Building Coastal Resilience
Matthew Gray is an expert in oyster ecophysiology. His research focuses on how robust oyster populations can improve the environment, including water quality and shoreline stabilization. He is currently working on several projects that focus on developing methods for restoring oysters by creating 'living breakwaters' or artificial oyster reefs that are designed to dampen waves, protect shorelines and provide rich habitat for marine life. - Horn Point Laboratory
Lora Harris is an estuarine ecologist with expertise in monitoring restoration trajectories in many ecosystems, including tidal wetlands. Her work includes leading a decade-long effort to document the impact of a large-scale restoration of the Cove Point Marsh. – Chesapeake Biological Laboratory
Ming Li has extensive experience in conducting interdisciplinary research on the regional impacts of climate change. He has developed coupled atmosphere-ocean models for investigating and predicting coastal flooding in a changing climate, including research on coastal sea level dynamics to help inform decision making on coastline management. He leads a National Research Coordination Network (RCN) to advance research for building resilient communities and infrastructure in estuaries and bays, through support from the NSF Coastlines & People (CoPe) program. -Horn Point Laboratory
William Nardin is an environmental engineer focusing on the processes that govern coastal landscapes. His current research focus includes the impact of storms and sea-level rise on wetlands and oyster-reefs, and the planning and impacts of applying nature-based solutions to increase coastal resilience. -Horn Point Laboratory
Cindy Palinkas is a coastal sedimentologist focusing on the transfer and fate of terrestrial sediment in adjacent river and estuarine waters. She is conducting research on the feedbacks between sediment dynamics and intertidal and subtidal plant communities, including land-use changes and shoreline stabilization from establishment of living shorelines. -Horn Point Laboratory
Lorie Staver is an plant ecologist, with a focus on the restoration of nearshore and subtidal vegetation to promote coastal resilience and water quality. Her current work includes tidal marsh restoration at the Paul S. Sarbanes Ecosystem Restoration Project at Poplar Island and studies of the ecosystem services provided by living shorelines. -Horn Point Laboratory