UNCW has more than 22 faculty members conducting various types of research in the Caribbean region. Here is a sampling of their interests.

 

Lewis J. Abrams, Ph.D., professor of geology, Center for Marine Science. Interest: mapping submarine faults to help constrain the seismogenic and tsunamogenic potential of the northeastern North American-Caribbean plate boundary near Puerto Rico.

W. Frank Ainsley, Ph.D., professor of geography. Interest: vernacular architecture and settlement landscapes in Barbados and tourism images, reality and perceptions of Barbados.

Amanda R. Boomershine, Ph.D., assistant professor of Spanish. Interest: linguistic variation
that occurs in Spanish-speaking countries of the Caribbean, specifically working with the
Universidas de Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras.

Christopher C. Dennis, Ph.D., assistant professor of Spanish. Interest: working with La Universidad Nacional in Bogota, Colombia, researching issues pertaining to Afro-Colombian cultures and racial iconography associated with the tourist industry.

Christopher Finelli, Ph.D., assistant professor of biological oceanography. Interest: the role of
water flow in structuring reef communities especially as it affects coral bleaching and the
performance of reef suspension feeders (sponges, corals, fishes).

Douglas W. Gamble, Ph.D., associate professor of geography. Interest: meteorological observation network on San Salvador Island, Bahamas; connecting climate data to karst processes, the microbiology of inland lakes, the distribution of invasive tree species and island water resource development.

Nancy R. Grindlay, Ph.D., professor of geology, Center for Marine Science. Interest: underwater seepage in the Caribbean in collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagues.

Joanne N. Halls, Ph.D., associate professor of geographic information systems. Interest: spatial and temporal analysis of coastal development, habitats/natural resources and policy/management tools from local to regional scales.

Nancy M. Hritz, Ph.D. assistant professor of tourism management. Interest: tourism development and policymaking and the economic, environmental and social impacts of tourism. Hritz is a previous resident of St. Croix, U.S.V.I.

Paul Hosier, Ph.D., professor of plant ecology. Interest: ecology of coastal vegetation; ecological and geologic processes of barrier islands and beaches; changes in estuarine marshes in response to sea level rise and the ecology of coastal dune slacks, maritime forests and strandline plants.

Joseph M. Kishton, Ph.D., professor of psychology. Interest: online course development as an adjunct professor at the Northern Caribbean University in Mandeville, Jamaica.

Sean Lema, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology. Interest: neural and hormonal mechanisms underlying behavioral variation in coral reef fish and the importance of these mechanisms for responses to environmental change.

Michael A. McCartney, Ph.D., associate professor of integrative and comparative biology,
Center for Marine Science. Interest: speciation in the Caribbean Hypoplectrus coral reef fishes and population genetic connectivity of fishes throughout the Florida Keys and Caribbean.

N. Samuel Murrell, Ph.D., associate professor of philosophy and religion. Interest: Afro-Caribbean religions, their historical roots and the cultural and religious traditions relating to them.

Joseph R. Pawlik, Ph.D., professor of marine chemical ecology, Center for Marine Science.
Interest: functions of unusual organic compounds derived from Caribbean coral reef sponges and sea whips, particularly as defenses against predation, fouling and overgrowth.

Thomas A. Potts, M.S., associate director NOAA National Undersea Research Center, Center for Marine Science. Interest: autonomous underwater vehicle expert; collaborations with the
Perry Foundation’s Caribbean Marine Research Center in the Bahamas and the Caribbean.

James A. Rotenberg, Ph.D., assistant professor of environmental studies. Interest: Harpy Eagle and bird community conservation in the Bladen Nature Reserve, Belize.

Peter W. Schuhmann, Ph.D., professor of economics. Interest: economic value of coastal and marine resources in the Caribbean.

Andrew N. Shepard, M.S., director, NOAA National Undersea Research Center, Center for Marine Science. Interest: applications of undersea technologies to scientific research, Southeast U.S. from North Carolina to Texas and the Caribbean Basin region.

Michael S. Smith, Ph.D., professor of geology. Interest: mineralogical and petrological variations of prehistoric ceramic sherds from the islands of Anguilla, St. John and St. Croix.

Amanda L. Southwood, Ph.D., assistant professor of animal physiology. Interest: physiological ecology of vertebrates, with a focus on effects of temperature on physiology and behavior of reptiles.

Alina M. Szmant, Ph.D., professor of coral biology, Center for Marine Science. Interest: reproductive ecology and physiological ecology of reef corals and nutrient dynamics in tropical coastal systems such as Puerto Rico.

 

UNCW/Jamie Moncrief