Black and white photo of students from the Gulf Scholars Program summer 2024

Welcome to the LSU Gulf Scholars Program

 

Logo for the National Academies Gulf Research Program

 

ALL MAJORS WELCOME

 

The LSU Gulf Scholars Program (GSP) aims to prepare undergraduate students from any major to address challenges and issues facing the gulf south region. LSU Gulf Scholars will participate in immersive projects, courses, excursions and activities focused on supporting people, ecosystems and industries in and around the Gulf of Mexico. 

Contact us at gulfscholars@lsu.edu and follow us on Instagram @lsu_gsp

 

Group of students posing for a photo on a field trip

Scholars on a field trip to Sabine National Wildlife Refuge during summer 2024.

Interested in joining the third cohort of LSU Gulf Scholars?

Fall:

  • Attend an info session
  • Submit your application
  • Applicant decisions made and notifications sent

Spring:

  • Gulf Scholars programming begins
  • Gulf Impact Projects determined

Summer and beyond:

  • Complete Gulf Impact Projects
  • Attend field trips, workshops, and trainings
  • Present your project at the Summer Showcase
  • Continue work on projects, volunteering, and other activities

We will host several Student Information Sessions throughout the semester at which students can learn about the program, how to apply, and ask questions. 

If you are interested in applying to the program, we strongly encourage you to attend an info session.

Check back SOON for the Fall 2024 info session schedule!

A main component of the LSU Gulf Scholars Program are the summer Gulf Impact Projects.

Up to 25 students will be funded for 10-week faculty-mentored research projects spanning the sciences, humanities, arts, and engineering.

Students accepted into the program get to rank available faculty projects they are interested in working on. We will then match students to a project based on those rankings and faculty feedback. 

If you have your own ideas for a project, reach out to us directly and/or be sure to include that in your application!

Students are allocated up to $6,000 in funding for wages ($15.00/hr!), supplies, and travel related to their project.

  • Scholars will first be accepted into the program in the fall, and matched with a faculty-mentored Gulf Impact Project the following spring.
  • The research department for the Gulf Impact Project you apply to does not have to be the same department that your major is in.
  • While some travel may be required for your specific project, you otherwise must be present in Baton Rouge for the summer.

A list of summer 2025 Gulf Impact Projects will be coming soon! For now you can view the projects that were available during summer 2024 and 2023.

To wrap up the summer Gulf Impact Projects, scholars present their work at the Gulf Scholars Summer Showcase. This is a poster session event that celebrates the important work the scholars completed with their faculty mentors. 

The 2nd annual Summer Showcase was held on Thursday, August 8, 2024 in the Energy, Coast and Environment Building Rotunda from 12:30 - 2:00 pm. 

The inaugural Summer Showcase was held on Wednesday, August 9, 2024 at the LSU Center for River Studies from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm. 

Student presenting a research poster to a faculty member

Karrie Cheng presenting her research poster at the 2nd annual Summer Showcase on August 8, 2024.

Student and faculty member at research presentation event

Dr. Nicholas Mason with Gulf Scholar mentee Victoria Nguyen at the 2nd annual Summer Showcase, August 8, 2024.

We are now recruiting facutly mentors for summer 2025 Gulf Impact Projects

Click here to submit the project proposal form

Are you interested in serving as a faculty mentor for an undergraduate student in the Gulf Scholars Program? We are looking for gulf-centric projects that either already have funding or are in need of funding. 

Benefits of mentoring a Gulf Impact Project undergraduate student include:

  • High retention rates due to engagement with the greater cohort.
  • Students receive additional training and knowledge through cohort workshops and seminars.
  • Students have a demonstrated interest in the topic from the application process.
  • Students will get paid a minimum of $15 per hour and work up to 40 hours a week during the 10-week project. 

We will review your project submission to determine if it meets the criteria of the program. If accepted, we cannot guarantee that a student will be matched to your project. 

20-25 undergraduate students will be accepted to the Gulf Scholars Program by the end of Fall 2024. Students will be matched to faculty Gulf Impact Projects during the Spring 2025 semester for work to begin Summer 2025. 

If you have any questions, please contact us at gulfscholars@lsu.edu.

The LSU Gulf Scholars Program is a five-year pilot project of the Board on Gulf Education and Engagement within the Gulf Research Program Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The project seeks to build the capacity of Gulf region colleges and universities to prepare the next generation to address critical challenges in the region. 

The focus areas of the Gulf Research Program are:

  • Community health and resilience
  • Environmental Protection and Stewardship
  • Offshore energy safety

Participating schools engage students from across the sciences, engineering, medicine, humanities, arts, and beyond to develop key competencies and mindsets necessary to address critical Gulf challenges.

The GSP specifies key learning outcomes necessary for students to address these challenges, provides funding for participating schools, and supports the development of a region-wide network of GSP schools and students committed to the GRP's vision of a safer, more resilient and sustainable Gulf region. The GSP learning outcomes are:

  1. Knowledge of the Gulf Region
  2. Multidisciplinary and integrative learning
  3. Intercultural knowledge and competencies
  4. Social responsibility and ethical reasoning
  5. Innovation and entrepreneurialism
  6. Gulf Impact Project

Read more about the National Academies' Gulf Scholars Program.

Undergraduate students posing for a group photo

Members of the first cohort of Gulf Scholars, the "Magnificent Frigatebirds"

Undergraduate students posing for a group photo

Members of the second cohort of Gulf Scholars, the "Mardi Gars"

 

Meet the LSU Gulf Scholars

Student Major Gulf Impact Project - Summer 2024 Faculty Mentor
Jay Bonilla Hernandez Psychology Callin’ Baton Rouge: 311 Calls, Flooding, and Environmental Justice Dr. Kevin Smiley
Jack Bourgeois Coastal Environmental Science Diversity of Infaunal Invertebrates in Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) in Barataria Bay, LA Dr. Cassandra Glaspie
Frank Bussott Coastal Environmental Science The Analysis of Salinity Intrusion in a River-Dominated Delta: An Idealized Numerical Modeling Study Dr. Matt Hiatt
Leslie Castaneda Environmental Engineering Acclimation of Coastal Grasses to Saline Water Used for Restoration of the Gulf Coast United States Dr. Edward Bush
Karrie Cheng Mass Communication Solid Waste Water for Aquaculture Processors: Analysis of Wastewater Effluent and Solid Waste for Louisiana Processors Dr. M.P. Hayes
Emerson Eccles Coastal Environmental Science Integrating multiple threats to global sustainability Dr. Brian Snyder
Lauren Ejiaga Psychology Potential Links Between Water Quality in ATU-influenced Ditches and Mosquito Proliferation in Southeastern Louisiana Dr. Aaron Bivins
Jana Giles Biological Sciences Louisiana Deltaic Estuaries: Sea Level Rise Sentinels Dr. Cassandra Glaspie
Roan Guidry Political Science The Origins of Coastal Wetland Conservation Efforts in Louisiana Dr. Andy Nyman
Gavin Juge Sociology Callin’ Baton Rouge: 311 Calls, Flooding, and Environmental Justice Dr. Kevin Smiley
Zachary Legier Mechanical Engineering Soft, tactile robotic gripper for marine sampling and monitoring Dr. Robert Herbert
Christopher Lowrey-Dufour Coastal Environmental Science Exploring Environmental Toxicity through EROD (ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase) Activity Dr. Jon Doering
Mallory Miller Natural Resource Ecology & Management Linkages Among Limpkins, Apple Snails and Mussels Dr. Sammy King
William Morales Computer Science A Sociolinguistic Study of Intensification in the Spanish of Louisianian Puerto Ricans Dr. Rafael Orozco
Victoria Nguyen Natural Resource Ecology & Management Comparative Population Genomics of Gulf Coast Birds Dr. Nicholas Mason
Jaylynn Powe Studio Art Callin’ Baton Rouge: 311 Calls, Flooding, and Environmental Justice Dr. Kevin Smiley
Stephanie Procopio Coastal Environmental Science Weather Event Impacts on Soil Characteristics of a Salt Marsh in the Barataria Basin, Louisiana Dr. Songjie He
Long Tran Civil Engineering Collecting Data to Prepare for Statewide Road Diet Screening Dr. Rebecca Bian
Lauren Vogel Natural Resource Ecology & Management Using fatty acids and stable isotopes to identify trophic niche partitioning between crawfish and invasive apple snails in crawfish ponds of Louisiana Dr. Sydney Moyo
Dan Vu Microbiology Characterization of Swimming Behavior in Karenia brevis Dr. Naohiro Kato
Shalanda Warr Studio Art Freshwater Mussels of Louisiana Poster Dr. Garrett Hopper
Katherine Winchester Computer Science Autonomous Underwater Vehicle for Gulf South Region Ecosystem Monitoring Dr. Xiangyu Meng

 

Student Major / Degree Gulf Impact Project - Summer 2023 Faculty Mentor
Joseph Brooks Landscape Architecture No Place Like LaPlace: A Green Infrastructure Network for Stormwater Management Dr. Nicholas Serrano
Jennifer Cagnolatti Biological Sciences Evaluation of Altered Nutrient Conditions on Algal Growth During Dynamic Co-Culture Dr. Sibel Bartu-Ates
Emma Carlo B.A. Sociology - Fall 2023 Callin’ Baton Rouge: 311 Calls, Flooding and Environmental Justice Dr. Kevin Smiley
Brooke Chouest B.F.A. Studio Art - Spring 2024 Blood in the Water, Water in the Lungs Dr. Johanna Warwick 
Nonnie “Betsy” Cook Coastal Environmental Science Enabling Predictive Toxicology Assessments to Determine Whether
Pollution is Contributing to the Decline of Sharks in the Gulf of Mexico and Beyon 		 Dr. Jon Doering 
Alcina Costa Computer Engineering Callin’ Baton Rouge: 311 Calls, Flooding and Environmental Justice Dr. Kevin Smiley
Carlie Dutile Biological Engineering Synthesis and Characterization of Cobalt Complexes for the
Electrochemical Reduction of Nitrite in Water 		 Dr. Noemie Elgrishi
Victor Gischler Music Louisiana: Sounds of the Coast Dr. Brian Nabors 
Jamarion Johnson Natural Resource Ecology and Management Vulnerability of Spartina patens Marshes to Sea-Level Rise Dr. Tracy Quirk
Jonathan Russell  Coastal Environmental Science Are Increasing Global Sea Temperatures Linked to Changing
Tropical Cyclone Induced Tornadic Distribution along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Coast? 		 Dr. Robert Rohli 
Dakota Sievers Coastal Environmental Science Regenerating or Ghost Forest? A.E. LeBlanc Woods Natural Area Dr. Linda Hooper-Bui 
Neil Tepper B.A. Political Science - Spring 2024 Callin’ Baton Rouge: 311 Calls, Flooding and Environmental Justice Dr. Kevin Smiley
Patricia Thibodeaux Animal Sciences  Comparing Arthropod and Plant Communities Across
Natural and Man-Made Brackish Marshes in Coastal Louisiana 		 Dr. Michael Polito
Landry Tucker Chemistry  Sediment Core Analysis of a Well-Preserved Underwater
Baldcypress Forest in the Northern Gulf of Mexico 		 Dr. Kristine DeLong
Treasure Wells Psychology The Louisiana Early Childhood Teachers Oral History Project Dr. Jennifer Baumgartner
Jameson Woodall Coastal Environmental Science Sedimentary History of the Mississippi River Pass-a-Loutre Outlet Dr. Sam Bentley 

 

apply to the lsu gulf scholars program

Applicant Requirements: 

  • Must have at least 3 semesters remaining as a full-time undergraduate (Spring 2025, Summer 2025, Fall 2025).
  • For summer 2025 Gulf Impact Projects: Must be enrolled as a full-time student the following fall semester (Fall 2025).
  • Must have a minimum 2.5 college GPA.
  • Must be in good standing with the University.

The Gulf Scholars Program is not accepting new student applicants at this time. Applications were due November 1st, 2023. Check back SOON for the next round of undergraduate student applications!

 

Check out some of the engaging activities and trips the Gulf Scholars participate in!

Group photo of the Gulf Scholars on a trip to Buras, Louisiana.Gulf Scholars with a gar caught during a trip to Buras, Louisiana.Gulf Scholars observing a black drum caught during a trip to Buras, Louisiana.Gulf Scholars learning about species of plants along the gulf coast.

Gulf Scholar observing plant species while on a trip to Buras, Louisiana.Practicing throwing cast nets at Milford Wampold Memorial Park in Baton Rouge.Gulf Scholars on a trip to Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge to see the largest bald cypress tree in the United States.Scholars standing on new land in the gulf while on a trip to Buras, Louisiana.

Scholars observing fish caught from a cast net during an activity at Milford Wampold Memorial Park in Baton Rouge.Group photo of the Gulf Scholars on a trip to Buras, Louisiana.Scholar standing on new land in the gulf while on a trip to Buras, Louisiana.Scholars identifying fish caught from a cast net during an activity at Milford Wampold Memorial Park in Baton Rouge.

 

Meet our team:

Program Director
Dr. Linda Hooper-Bùi: Professor, Environmental Sciences

Program Coordinator
Ella Magerl

 

Leadership Team:

Dr. Jacqueline Bach: Vice Provost of Academic Programs & Support Services; Elena and Albert LeBlanc Professor, English Education & Curriculum Theory

Sarah Ferstel: Director of Undergraduate Research, LSU Discover

Dr. Debbie Goldgaber: Director, LSU Ethics Institute; Associate Professor and Section Head, Philosophy

Dr. Margaret Reams: Associate Director for Community Engagement, LSU Institute for Energy Innovation; Joseph D. Martinez Professor of Environmental Sciences

Dr. Clint Willson: Director, Center for River Studies; Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; The Water Institute of the Gulf