Director: Dr. Gregory W. Stone

Message From The Director: Welcome to the web site of the Coastal Studies Institute (CSI) at Louisiana State University. I appreciate your interest in us, and I hope the site provides the information you are looking for.

The CSI was established as an interdisciplinary and field-oriented research organization in 1952 to address Navy’s needs through institutional support from the Geography Programs of the Office of Naval Research. Over the years, CSI has expanded its source for research support, and has received research funding through competitive grants and contracts with a variety of federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics & Space Administration, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, the Minerals Management Service, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the US Geological Service, the Office of Naval Research, the Naval Research Laboratory, the Department of Defense, National Park Service, and the Sea Grant Program, as well as a variety of state agencies, including the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, the Louisiana Division of Administration, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, the Board of Regents, the Louisiana Applied Oil Spill Research and Development, and the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, and major petroleum companies.

Research is interdisciplinary, including coastal morphodynamics, coastal/marine meteorology, marine optics, physical oceanography, remote sensing, sedimentology, and marine geology and geophysics with an emphasis on deltaic, shelf and slope sedimentary environments. CSI currently has a total of 35 fulltime employees including 7 tenure-track faculty, 5 faculty emeritus, 1 research faculty, 2 administrative support staff, 11 field support staff, and 11 research support staff. It includes two Boyd Professors (Coleman and Roberts) and a member of the National Academy of Engineering (Coleman). Through the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, all tenure-track CSI faculty actively participate in teaching (both undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in DOCS), and supervising graduate students. For the period 2000-2006, external funding (grants and contracts) averaged at $2.65 million and 15.5 projects per year with 55.9% coming from federal sources while state sources accounted for 35.0%.

A uniqueness of the capability of CSI is the wide spectrum of expertise and facilities available to study the entire Gulf of Mexico from deepwater to the coasts and bays. We are looking forward to many more opportunities to continue our contributions in coastal research.

Gregory W. Stone
Director