About Our Team
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Michael Starek, PhD
Dr. Michael J. Starek is an Associate Professor in Geospatial Systems Engineering at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC), Chief Scientist and Director of the Measurement Analytics (MANTIS) Lab with the Conrad Blucher Institute for Surveying and Science. Dr. Starek holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida and was formerly a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow of the U.S. Army Research Office in affiliation with North Carolina State University. His research focuses on the merging of geomatics, remote sensing, and geospatial computing for precise measurement and analysis of natural and built systems. Dr. Starek is contributing his experience of precise spatial measurements of the coastal environment and his experience in applying AI to such problems to the Coastal AI research component of the institute.
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Scott King, PhD
Dr. King is a Professor of Computer Science at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi and Director of Innovation in COmputing REsearch Labs (iCORE). His research interests are in coastal AI, smart environments, visualization and autonomous vehicles. Scott A. King received his PhD in Computer and Information Science from The Ohio State University in 2001, he also has an MS in Computer and Information Science from Ohio State, and a BS in Computer Science from Utah State University. He is a member of IEEE and ACM.
Anthony Medrano, PhD
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Dr. Medrano is an Assistant Professor in the Conrad Blucher Institute and the Department of Computing Sciences at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. Dr. Medrano works on spatial optimization, and is interested in using artificial intelligence to solve computationally demanding location problems. Dr. Medrano earned his PhD in Computational Geography from the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), his Master’s in Multimedia Engineering also from UCSB, and his B.S. in Engineering from Harvey Mudd College.
Evan Krell, PhD
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Evan Krell is a Geospatial Computer Science PhD student at Texas A & M University – Corpus Christi, where he has previously received an MS in Computer Science. His research interests are in autonomous marine vehicles (mission planning and onboard computer vision), coastal AI applications, and explainable AI. Projects include using metaheuristics and deep learning for efficient marine route planning, onboard classification of turbid underwater imagery for data-driven sampling and developing XAI techniques to explain models whose inputs are rasters with hundreds of highly correlated channels.
Marina Vicens-Miquel, PhD
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Marina Vicens-Miquel is a Geospatial Computer Science PhD Student at Texas A & M University – Corpus Christi under Dr. Medrano. Marina’s research focuses on using AI techniques to solve Geospatial computer science problems, typically using UAV Imagery. She had worked in flood detection from UAVs using recurrent neural networks (RNN), and UAV damage assessment using deep learning. She is currently working on wet / dry shoreline geo-detection by applying deep learning analysis to UAV Imagery. Prior to starting her PhD, Marina earned a double major BS in Computer Science and Mathematics and competed on the TAMUCC NCAA Women ‘s Tennis team.
Miranda White
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Miranda White is a Coastal and Marine System Science PhD student at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Her research focuses on assessing and communicating variability, uncertainty, and trustworthiness of an AI coastal model that predicts cold temperatures in the local lagoon. She is working collaboratively with NCAR and TAMUCC AI scientists and local stakeholders to improve stakeholder decision-making concerning sea turtle and fisheries conservation efforts during extreme cold events. Miranda earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Integrated Environmental Science at Bethune-Cookman University.
José Congo
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José is a Ph.D. student in the Geospatial Computing Science program at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, under Dr. Michael Starek. He has research experience in UAS Photogrammetry and GNSS techniques for georeferencing UAS imagery.
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Katie Colburn
Katie Colburn is a graduate research assistant at the Conrad Blucher Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, where she works on shoreline delineation. Katie is attending the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, pursuing her OTD Degree in Occupational Therapy.
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Beto Estrada Jr.
Beto Estrada Jr. is a graduate research assistant at the Conrad Blucher Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science with a focus on information systems, and a minor in atmospheric science. He is now pursuing his masters in computer science. His research focuses on manipulating real-time Coastal Bend ocean conditions and prediction data and visualizing them through interactive charts for stakeholders to utilize.
Matthew Kastl
Matthew Kastl is a graduate Research Assistant at the Conrad Blucher Institute located at Texas A&M Corpus Christi. He is currently working towards a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. Matthew’s contributions consist of helping to construct a camera array and data collection system. Using Sterio Vision Technology the array will be used to collect elevation information about a shoreline to later be used for AI training.
Chantey Baca
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Chantey Baca is an undergraduate research assistant at the Conrad Blucher Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in physics and computer science with a focus on systems programming. She has been responsible for uploading, maintaining, and compiling the TCOON files into the digital library for anyone to access and utilize.
Christian Duff
Christian Duff is an undergraduate research assistant at the Conrad Blucher Institute at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi, pursuing a bachelor degree in Computer Science.
His research focuses on the prediction of water temperature using artificial neural networks for cold stunning events.
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Hector Marrero
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Hector Marrero is an undergraduate research assistant at the Conrad Blucher Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. He works with new interactive touch screens that are being used in the hybrid work environment while learning about how to apply artificial intelligence methods to the environment through the AI2ES online content.
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Savannah Stephenson
Savannah Stephenson is an undergraduate research assistant at the Conrad Blucher Institute at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. Savannah has not found a focus for her research yet but has interests in machine learning. When not at school or work Savannah enjoys analyzing popular media and writing fiction stories.
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Anointiyae Beasley
Anointiyae Beasley is a Computer Science major who will be transferring to TAMU-CC in 2023. She enjoys playing games and expanding her knowledge of the field during her free time. She has been a part of AI2ES since 2022 and looks forward to the new projects to come!