The Conrad Blucher Institute for Surveying and Science (CBI) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) has announced Dr. Evan Lee Turner ’03, ‘14 as the new Assistant Director of CBI Analytics and Technology Solutions (CATS).

As Assistant Director, Dr. Turner will lead the development and management of advanced data platforms and IT infrastructure, supporting CBI’s research and operational goals. In this role, Dr. Turner will oversee our CATS software engineering team, guide IT operations and software development, and provide scientific leadership on sponsored projects as a Principal Investigator (PI). He will also secure external funding, mentor staff and students, facilitate collaboration, and advance innovative data initiatives for both internal and external stakeholders.

Born and raised in Corpus Christi, Evan is a double alumnus of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, where he earned a B.S. in Computer Science in 2003 and a Ph.D. in Coastal Marine System Science in 2014. He completed his doctoral and postdoctoral research at the Harte Research Institute under Dr. Paul Montagna, and he also holds an M.B.A.

Evan comes to CBI from the Texas Water Development Board, where he spent nearly a decade and most recently served as Scientific Data Team Lead and senior technical authority for the Surface Water Division. He was the lead technical subject matter expert for waterdatafortexas.org, the state's primary public water data platform. Earlier in his career, Evan worked at the Texas Advanced Computing Center in Austin and taught science at Baker Middle School in Corpus Christi. Most recently, he has immersed himself in AI, though he takes a pragmatic view: learning it is a personal journey, and it cannot solve every problem.

CBI is excited to welcome Dr. Turner to the team and looks forward to the contributions he will make to CBI.