July 26, 2011
John J. Ramirez-Avila won first place in the Northern Gulf Institute’s (NGI) Annual Conference Poster Competition. Ramirez-Avila’s poster titled “Assessment and prediction of streambank erosion rates in the Town Creek watershed” provides a synopsis of the final results of his doctoral research performed within the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department (CEE). 22 graduate research posters from five different universities were presented at the 2011 NGI Annual Conference in Mobile, AL on May 18, 2011. Judging criteria for the competition considered technical statements and visual aids included on the posters and the knowledgeable presentation of the research by the student author to the judges.
Ramirez-Avila worked on his research with Dr. William McAnally and Dr. James Martin from CEE as co-advisors, and his Graduate Committee included Dr. Eddy Langendoen and Dr. Ron Bingner from the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) National Sedimentation Laboratory (NSL) in Oxford, MS.
Other awards received by Ramirez-Avila’s graduate research included the 2008 Kenneth E. Grant Research Scholarship from the Soil and Water Conservation Society; 2nd place in the 2009 NGI Student Paper Contest; a Graduate Research Grant from the Geological Society of America in 2010; and 1st Place in the 2010 Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI) Student Technical Paper Competition presented at the 2010 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress.
In the photo: Dr. Robert Moorhead (NGI Director) congratulating John J. Ramirez-Avila during the awards ceremony