Environmental Sustainability Issues in the South Texas—Mexico Border Region

Environmental sustainability issues in a fragile, semi-arid region and its coastal area, which experience climate changes from extreme drought conditions to the effects of hurricanes over a period of weeks to years, provide specific challenges for the ecosystems and the populations existing within the region. The research presented focuses on the problems and some solutions specific to the South Texas-Mexico border region, on both sides of the Rio Grande, focusing on water and air pollution.

David Ramirez is an Associate Professor of the Department of Environmental Engineering and Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Center for Research Excellence in Science and Technology - Research on Environmental Sustainability in Semi-Arid Coastal Areas (CREST-RESSACA) housed at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. His research focuses on the development of air quality control technology, atmospheric transformations of engineered nanomaterials, manufacture of carbon based adsorbents, nanoparticle adsorption, capture and recovery of organic vapors emitted from point sources, and air quality monitoring in near-coastal air sheds. He is a recipient of the 2009 NSF CAREER award, NSF foundation-wide most prestigious award for junior faculty. His research work has been funded from different agencies such as NSF, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and Texas Workforce Commission.

Jianhong Ren is an Associate Professor of the Environmental Engineering Department and Interim Associate Dean of the Frank H. Dotterweich College of Engineering at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Her research focuses on reactive transport processes in aquatic systems, chemical contamination and observations in fresh and costal water environment, real-time monitoring using cutting-edge sensor technologies, and physicochemical process based environmental system modeling. She has secured numerous research grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. She is a recipient of the 2004 NSF CAREER award, NSF foundation-wide most prestigious award in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research.

Kim D. Jones is a Professor and Chair of the Environmental EngineeringDepartment and Director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. He has led research efforts in ecological engineering projects, including the designs of treatment constructed wetlands and biofiltration projects targeting the monitoring and mitigation of non-point source pollution, for many years with real time sensor monitoring and data analysis. He has designed ecological engineering based coastal restoration projects with soil moisture and erosion monitoring, with the objective of preserving habitat while mitigating shoreline erosion. His research work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Harriet Lamm is a research scientist of the Office of Strategic Research Development at the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station. She has been the evaluator and coordinator of numerous research and education programs such as the South Texas Advanced Technology Education project, Texas Collaborative for Excellence in Teacher Preparation, Alliance for the Improvement of Mathematics Skills PreK-16, TAMU-Corpus Christi's Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program (STEP), TAMU-Kingsville's Research Experience for Teachers in Manufacturing for Competitiveness in the United States, TAMU-Kingsville's STEP, TAMU-Kingsville's CREST RESSACA, and Texas A&M University System Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation. She also taught mathematics at the secondary and post-secondary levels.