Honoring Our August 2020 Graduates

Candidates for Doctoral Degrees

Janelle Espinoza, PhD,  Marine Biology Interdisciplinary Program
Comparative Phylogeography, Historical Demography, and Population Genomics of Colonizing Fauna in Restored and Natural Spartina Salt Marshes Along the Northern Gulf of Mexico
Chair: Dr. Jaime Alvarado-Bremer

Candace Grimes, PhD, Marine Biology Interdisciplinary Program
Ecology of the Bearded Fireworm, Hermodice Carunculata (Amphinomidae: Annelida)
Chair: Dr. Anja Schulze

Travis Richards, PhD, Marine Biology Interdisciplinary Program
Trophic Structure and Food Web Dynamics of Deep-Pelagic Micronekton in the Gulf of Mexico
Chair: Dr. David Wells

Tom TinHan, PhD, Marine Biology Interdisciplinary Program
Population and Trophic Connectivity of Bull Sharks in the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico
Chair: Dr. RJ David Wells

Raven Walker-Blakeway, PhD, Marine Biology Interdisciplinary Program
An Appetite for Lionfish: Empirically Evaluating a Sustainable Fishery Through Two Case Studies, Aruba and Texas
Chair: Dr. Glenn Jones

 

 

Candidates for Master's Degrees

Nicholas Diaz, MMR Marine Resources Management
Deriving First Floor Elevations (FFEs) within Residential Communities Located in Galveston Using RTK-UAS Based Data
Chair: Wesley E. Highfield 

Tristan Dopyera, Maritime Administration & Logistics

Lisa Hill, MMR Marine Resources Management
Environmental and Anthropogenic Influences During the 20th Century in Scott Bay San Jacinto Estuary, Houston, Texas
Chair: Dr. Tim Dellapenna

Chelsea Lopez, MS, Marine Biology Interdisciplinary Program

Jason Mostowy, MS MARB
Distribution of Demersal Fishes on Unconsolidated Bottom Habitat of the Northern Gulf of Mexico
Chair: Dr. Jay Rooker

Abel Otchere, Maritime Administration & Logistics

Catherine Risley, MS MARB
Subseafloor Prokaryotic and Viral Communities in Sediment From an Anoxic Marine Basin
Chair: Dr. Jessica M. Labonté

Benjamin Rush, MS, Marine Biology Interdisciplinary Program

William Stewart, Maritime Administration & Logistics

Elizabeth Wagner, Maritime Administration & Logistics

Joseph Whitmore, Maritime Administration & Logistics

 

 

 

Candidates for Baccalaureate Degrees

 

MARINE SCIENCES

 

 

 

Ceremonial Symbols

Academic Regalia

Throughout the world, academic institutions have created a wide variety of customs as they have attempted to indicate the accomplishments of scholars, through distinctive dress, color and ceremony. American academic regalia have developed from English traditions, which originated at Oxford and Cambridge, and have been in continual use in this country since colonial times. By the twentieth century, institutions of higher learning in the United States had adopted a well-defined system of academic costume which now includes the identification of the different academic degrees by distinctive gowns, hoods and colors.

Gonfalons

The gonfalon, a flag that hangs from a crosspiece or frame, originated in the medieval republics of Italy as an ensign of state or office. Gonfalons have been adopted by many universities around the world as college or institutional insignias.

The gonfalon of Texas A&M University Galveston Campus and the eleven colleges of Texas A&M University all have similar maroon and white patterns. The white field common to all gonfalons serves as a background for the symbol of each college. The symbol of Texas A&M University Galveston Campus is the spiral pattern of the chambered nautilus shell which conforms to the mathematical formula derived from the Fibonacci series of numbers. The blue vertical bands behind it give stability to the vast open waters of the sea.

The Mace

The University mace, carried in ceremonial procession, symbolizes the rich history or Texas A&M University Galveston Campus. The head or the mace is made of Texas mesquite: inlaid on its front is a bronze University seal. A piece of teak from the original Texas Clipper (symbolizing maritime activities) and a piece of whale tooth ivory (symbolizing scientific research and teaching activities) are inlaid on the back of the mace. The foot and coupling between the staff and head are fashioned out of brass taken from the Texas Clipper II. As a coin is traditionally put under the step (bottom) of a mast, a 1962 penny is stepped in the brass foot to commemorate the year of the school's birth as the Texas A&M Maritime Academy. In the hollow center of the brass coupling between the staff and head is a small cavity, containing historical artifacts: a 1971 penny, symbolizing the year the school expanded beyond maritime subjects; a piece of Fort Crockett, the first Galveston building used by the school; and a piece of Kirkham Hall, the first building on the Mitchell Campus.

It was presented to the University in 2006 by Steven Conway, then Director of Information Services, who turned and finished the mesquite and assembled the mace. Trenton Thornton '86 milled the brass for the foot and coupling. Dr. Stephen Curley, Regents Professor, Department of Liberal Studies, suggested historical items to include in the construction.