Scott Lee Young redefines what’s possible  

May 14, 2025

By Megan Sam Scott Lee Young is driven by a simple but powerful question: What can I accomplish that I once thought was impossible?   This mindset took root in his home country of Jamaica, where he and his high school team spent six months preparing for a national quiz competition. Covering topics ranging from proverbs […]

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Julie Walker confronts gators — and other surprises — in pursuit of science  

November 26, 2024

UF Center for Coastal Solutions’ alumna Julie Walker has always embraced a challenge, even if it means facing down an alligator to check on her field experiments. During her doctoral studies, she once spotted what appeared to be an alligator’s head floating near her work site in the marsh. After waiting for 30 minutes, she […]

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Chu-En Hsu gives back: Mentoring the next generation as a new professor 

September 23, 2024

Growing up in Taiwan, where typhoons and coastal storms were a regular occurrence, Chu-En Hsu developed a deep fascination with the ocean and the forces shaping his surroundings. This interest eventually led him far from home to the University of Florida, where he earned his doctorate degree in coastal and oceanographic engineering. As a graduate […]

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Jack Parker turns his love for drones into a purpose to protect the coast

August 9, 2024

Growing up along Florida’s coast, Jack Parker experienced several hurricanes that affected his family’s life. Two of these storms, Dennis in 2005 and Michael in 2018, caused a great amount of damage to his home, and led to several days without power followed by weeks of cleaning up. These experiences made Parker want to contribute to […]

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Stephen Adusei follows his dreams

June 24, 2024

From the mines of Ghana to the beaches of Florida, Stephen Adusei journeyed a long way to follow his dream of becoming a geotechnical engineer. Driven by a strong interest in soil and rock mechanics and geospatial data analysis, Adusei’s passion led to a career in research with frequent field work and use of some […]

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Change catalyst Brian Beach joins CCS advisory board

January 24, 2024

This month’s SeaSquad features Brian Beach, CCS’ newest advisory board member and president of Beachside Strategy, which guides organizations in developing their vision and models for innovation and transformation. Beach shares his deep connection to UF, his motivation for joining the board and features of the coast that he hopes his children and future generations […]

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Charli Pezoldt finds purpose in field work

December 4, 2023

As a research technician at the Center for Coastal Solutions, Charli Pezoldt gets to live out their childhood dream job of working on the water. Pezoldt is part of a field operations team that helps scientists at the University of Florida collect data and coordinate logistics for numerous experiments and projects.    “The innate desire […]

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Emory Wellman: Safeguarding the coast’s small treasures

November 7, 2023

After graduating with a degree in political science and working for two and a half years in nonprofits, Emory Wellman was unsure whether a career shift to the natural sciences would pay off, but she knew she would regret it if she didn’t try. These days, Emory is a full-time graduate student studying ecology, and enjoys […]

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Joe Marchionno: Restoring marine habitats of threatened birds

September 29, 2023

Joe Marchionno vividly recalls the sense of wonder he felt as he got an up-close look at a bird for the first time while a colleague at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) attached a small band to the bird’s leg to track its movements. “One of the rewards of doing conservation work […]

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Nina Stark: Digging for Coastal Resilience

August 29, 2023

Researcher and educator Nina Stark has crisscrossed the world to help coastal communities build more resilient infrastructure in the face of rising coastal hazards and climate change-related threats. Her expertise in marine geotechnics, the mechanics of seabed sediments, has taken her from the frigid and windy conditions of the Arctic to the sunny Florida coasts. […]

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