A sizable group representing the Conrad Blucher Institute for Surveying and Science (CBI) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) traveled to Houston in January 2026 to participate in the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society (AMS)—one of the world’s largest yearly gatherings for the weather, water, and climate community.
Several students from CBI’s Coastal Dynamics Lab (CDL), many supported by NSF’s Artificial Intelligence Institute for Environmental Science (AI2ES) and Expand AI grants, delivered presentations that showcased CBI’s strength and innovation in using AI for environmental predictions.
“This is an outstanding group of student researchers,” said Dr. Philippe Tissot, CBI Chair for Coastal Artificial Intelligence, Co-PI for the NSF AI2ES Institute, and CDL Director. “Our students have consistently raised our standards through their leadership and teamwork, and the quality of their research and presentations has continued to gain national recognition.”
Amongst an impressive array of oral and poster presentations, several received national awards:
Beto Estrada Jr. was awarded first place in the 24th Symposium on the Coastal Environment oral presentations category for his presentation on “Machine learning–based groundwater level predictions as a proxy for compound flooding events in Miami, Florida”.
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Juliet Cattell was awarded second place in the 24th Symposium on the Coastal Environment poster presentations category for her presentation on “Compound coastal flooding observations and predictions with low-cost water level sensors along the mid-Texas coast”.
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Miranda White received an award in 25th Conference on Artificial Intelligence for Environmental Science oral presentations category for her presentation on “AI machine learning uncertainty quantification for cold-stunning events.”
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Miranda White was also awarded third place in the Societal Applications Symposium oral presentations category for her presentation on “How decision makers trust and use machine learning predictions for managing marine cold-stunning risks”.
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These recent recognitions add to a growing list of honors earned by CDL student researchers. Thanks in part to Dr. Tissot’s mentorship and the leadership of PhD students Miranda White, Dr. Marina Vicens-Miquel, and Dr. Evan Krell, students working on AI2ES and Expand AI projects have won 17 national awards since the launch of AI2ES in 2020.
“The opportunities, mentorship, and collaborative environment fostered by CDL and CBI are the reason we’ve been able to do this impactful work,” said Miranda White, both awardee and leader within the CDL team. “I’m grateful to be part of institutions that value both strong science and meaningful societal contributions. It’s something I take seriously and am proud to carry forward.”
CBI congratulates all its presenters at the 106th AMS Annual Meeting and thanks those who attended to represent CBI and TAMU-CC and advance scientific knowledge with lasting public impact.