Contact: Dr. Tracy Villareal
UT Marine Science Institute
361-749-6736, tracy@utmsi.utexas.edu

Date: April 24, 2006

MSI students receive honors at Texas Bays and Estuaries Meeting

Port Aransas, Texas—Students from the University of Texas Marine Science Institute were awarded first and second place in the competition for the best student presentation at the 2006 Texas Bays and Estuaries Meeting, which was held at the Marine Science Institute last week.

First place went to Harris Muhlstein for his presentation: "Comparison of growth rate and efficiency of the Texas brown tide alga Aureoumbra lagunensis when grown on DON and DIN.”  Second place was awarded to Lucia Carreón-Martinez for her presentation “Sciaenid fish egg identification by molecular species-specific markers.”

Thirteen students submitted their talks for consideration. The judging panel was comprised of three judges representing academia and state agencies. None of the judges had a student in the competition. The judges attended each talk and scored it using these categories:

RESEARCH CONTENT (60%)

1. Originality, innovation and scientific significance of the research (10)
2. Background information and introduction (10)
3. Experimental design and methods (10)

4. Data analysis and interpretation (10)
5. Discussion of results and answering questions (10)
6. Appropriateness and plausibility of conclusions (10)

PRESENTATION (40%)

1. Clarity of research statement and purpose (10)
2. Quality of visual aids or graphic design (10)
3. Style, clarity and ability to communicate research (10)
4. Organization and timing (10)

Created: Monday April 24, 2006