By Megan Sam
“As we all live on or near the Indian River Lagoon, we’re directly affected by these issues,” said Walter Rentz, president of the Space Coast Gator Club. “The discussion about red tide was especially timely.”
That sense of urgency — and personal connection — set the tone for a recent Gator Nation event in Melbourne, where University of Florida alumni and students came together to celebrate scholarship and showcase coastal resilience research. Hosted by the Space Coast Gator Club, the evening highlighted the innovative work of the UF Center for Coastal Solutions (CCS) and honored the club’s 2025 scholarship recipients, the next generation of Gator leaders.
For many attendees, the challenges were all too familiar. Red tide — harmful algal blooms that discolor the water and release toxins fatal to marine life and harmful to human health— has touched lives up and down Florida’s Gulf and Atlantic coasts, including the Indian River Lagoon.
“Many people at the event have a deep connection to the ocean and coast, and they’ve personally experienced the effects of red tide,” said Chin, a Ph.D. candidate in environmental engineering sciences. “They really appreciated seeing the work being done to understand and address these issues.”
Chin, a graduate student advised by CCS Associate Director David Kaplan, Ph.D., is using artificial intelligence to detect and track red tides in the Charlotte Harbor region. His research focuses on identifying the specific combination, or “recipe,” of key environmental conditions — such as freshwater releases from Lake Okeechobee — that trigger the start, growth and decline of blooms, helping water managers make more informed science-based decisions about when and how to release water. His “bloom recipe” approach has the potential to transform how coastal regions, both in Florida and beyond, respond to harmful algal blooms.
The evening also featured CCS Interim Director Andrew Altieri, Ph.D., who shared a broader overview of the center’s work. Highlighting projects from nature-based dune restoration to innovative decision-support aids for coastal hazard management, he emphasized CCS’s commitment to science that delivers real-world impact — and to preparing the next generation of leaders to carry that mission forward.
“We emphasize hands-on learning and interdisciplinary collaboration,” said Altieri. “Our students are not just studying environmental challenges — they’re helping solve them.”
That message resonated with the crowd. Several scholarship recipients stayed after the presentations to talk with Chin and Altieri, eager to learn how their own interests might align with CCS’s mission.
“It was inspiring to see high school students so engaged with real-world environmental problems,” Chin said. “It makes me feel optimistic about the future because there are very bright and ambitious minds that are ready to tackle big challenges.”