10 students win awards for posters, presentations at State of the Coast conference

High-school, undergraduate and graduate students collect cash prizes

JUNE 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Ten high school, undergraduate and graduate students have been selected for cash prizes for their presentations at the 2025 State of the Coast conference, which was held May 20 to 22 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. The awards for oral and poster presentations range from $75 to $500.

Independent judging of the student awards was managed by Louisiana Sea Grant. Conference attendees with expertise relevant to student entries were recruited as judges, and submissions were scored by multiple judges according to a provided rubric. The purpose of the student competition is to acknowledge and celebrate emerging researchers focused on our coastal challenges.

The winners, the names of their presentations and their prize amounts are:

Undergraduate and high school students

Oral presentation

• First place, Kayla Willis, Tulane University, “Coastal Wetland Surface-Elevation Change; a 14-year Comparative Analysis,” $500

Poster presentations

• First place, Elinor Reyher, Benjamin Franklin High School, “Optimizing Nutria Management: Population Modeling and Policy Evaluation in Coastal Louisiana,” $250

• Second place, Jameson Woodall, LSU, “Using Sediment Core Analysis to Understand Decadel-Scale Sediment Dynamics in the Pass a Loutre Region,” $125

• Third place, Roan Guidry, LSU, “The Origins of Coastal Wetland Conservation Efforts in Louisiana,” $75

Graduate students

Oral presentations

• First place, Rongqing Du, LSU, “A Sediment Transport Model in Galveston Bay During Hurricane Harvey,” $500

• Second place, Matthew Weathers, Carnegie Mellon University, “Facilitating Dynamic Adaptive Pathways for GoM Decision-Maker; Land Ice and Water Projections,” $250

• Third place, Utkuhan Genc, Purdue University, “Using Equitable Access to Essential Services as Guidance for Investments in Coastal Adaptation,” $125

Poster presentations

• First place, Ali Abdelrahim, Tulane University, “Investigating the Feasibility of Using Recycled Glass Sand in Marsh Terraces in Terrebonne Bay, Louisiana,” $250

• Second place, Elizabeth MacDougal, Tulane University, “Effect of Glass v Dredge on the Fungal Microbiome of Wetland Plants,” $125

• Third place, Shanki Amaya Wanni Arachchige Don, LSU, “Non-Phragmites Dominated Edge and Interior Marsh Zones of the Balize Delta,” $75

“Kudos to the winners of the poster and presentation competitions,” said Julie Lively, Louisiana Sea Grant executive director. “Their research demonstrates the variety of needs in coastal Louisiana and an array of tools and possible solutions to address those needs. No doubt these new researchers will have an impact on our coastal environment in the years to come.”

State of the Coast, which was hosted by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and The Water Institute, featured more than 90 concurrent sessions consisting of standard talks, panels and lighting sessions. There were more than 85 posters in the Exhibit Hall, which was presented by Stantec.  

The conference attracted more than 1,300 scientists, policymakers, business leaders, educators and community members, making it the largest SOC ever. The next State of the Coast conference will be held in 2027.

To learn more about State of the Coast, visit the conference website.

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The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to unite people in action to achieve a thriving, sustainable Louisiana coast for all. 

Since its establishment in 1968, Louisiana Sea Grant has worked to promote stewardship of the state’s coastal resources through a combination of research, education and outreach programs critical to the cultural, economic and environmental health of Louisiana’s coastal zone. Louisiana Sea Grant, based at LSU, is part of the National Sea Grant College Program, a network of 34 university-based programs in each of the U.S. coastal and Great Lakes states and Puerto Rico.