Prior to joining the College of Marine Sciences and Maritime Studies at Texas A&M University at Galveston, Dr. Seleni Cruz earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Economics from the University of Delaware, where she was awarded the Doctoral Fellowship for Excellence. Her research focuses on the intersection of natural resource and development economics, climate change and fisheries management. She uses econometric techniques and bioeconomic modeling to explore human–ocean interactions and inform policies that promote sustainable resource use and community resilience. Cruz’s work spans small-scale fisheries in Latin America and climate-sensitive fisheries in the United States, aiming to bridge scientific insight and policy action in the face of global environmental change.

Dr. Daniel Kraemer's academic background is in geography, with a focus on human-environment interactions and geographic information science, or GIS. Before joining the Department of Marine and Coastal Environmental Science in the College of Marine Sciences and Maritime Studies, he served as instructor of record, lab instructor and research assistant during his doctoral studies at the University of Connecticut. His research currently focuses on advancing the knowledge and modeling of the social dimensions of vulnerability to hazards and natural disasters.

Prior to joining the College of Marine Sciences and Maritime Studies, Dr. Julian Hwang was an assistant professor and undergraduate coordinator of agribusiness management and applied economics at West Virginia University. He also served as the chief economist for the Louisiana Workforce Commission and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Hwang’s research focuses on economic valuation of coastal resources such as wetlands, ecosystem services and recreational fisheries. Hwang is an associate editor for Wetlands. 

Dr. Zhaojun Wang’s research focuses on informing policymaking related to shipping-borne environmental issues within a coupled human and natural system. Her work addresses challenges such as marine invasive species, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from global shipping. Prior to joining the College of Marine Sciences and Maritime Studies at Texas A&M University at Galveston, Wang was a postdoctoral researcher at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. She holds a Ph.D. in Marine Studies from the University of Delaware.

Dr. André Rosenbaum de Avillez first fell in love with teaching in 2010, when he began teaching Philosophy at the community college level. After earning his Ph.D., he returned to community college teaching in 2016, and confirmed that his passion lies in undergraduate instruction rather than pure research. He remained at that college for 10 years, earning tenure and two promotions before joining the College of Marine Sciences and Maritime Studies. His pedagogy is strongly influenced by the variety of his own experiences as a teacher and as a student in institutions ranging from community colleges to R1 universities, in the United States and in Belgium. Rosenbaum de Avillez's areas of specialization are 20th Century Continental Philosophy and Aesthetics. His areas of competency include Ethics and the History of Philosophy. Rosenbaum de Avillez is an active member of the American Association of Philosophy Teachers, where he has served on various committees and presented at multiple events.

Mr. Dillon Davidson is a Maine Maritime Academy graduate of the class of 2015 where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation with a license as Third Officer Unlimited Tonnage Upon Oceans and a minor in business. He earned his Master of International Affairs at Texas A&M University’s Bush School in 2024. Davidson currently holds a Second Mate Unlimited with supporting Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping endorsements. His active sailing time brings experience from a commercial capacity and for the Military Sealift Command, including time in the Special Missions Fleet. He was responsible for the safe operation of all vessels he sailed on including the loading and unloading of cargo, conducting detailed safety inspections, extensive maintenance, refitting work and conducting thorough and detailed planning of all aspects of the voyage and mission. Davidson previously served as a visiting assistant professor of the practice in the Department of Maritime Transportation academic year and will start as an assistant professor of the practice this fall.

Prior to joining the Department of Marine Engineering Technology in the College of Marine Sciences and Maritime Studies, Dr. Seyed Sobhan Aleyasin was a research associate at the University of Manitoba, Canada, working with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans of Canada. His expertise is in thermo-fluid systems and techno-economic analysis of clean energy sources for marine transportation. Aleyasin's research experience spans studies on stilling basins, bluff-body aerodynamics, turbulent jets, hydrokinetic turbines, solar energy systems, and heat and water recovery technologies. He is proficient in Particle Image Velocimetry, Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter, Computational Fluid Dynamics and the design and analysis of heat exchangers and pressure vessels.