Sam Roy, 海角社区 Geological Survey
2025 Award for Outstanding Contribution by an External Partner to Sustainability Research
No matter the project, Sam Roy leans into the network he built at the Mitchell Center and to the conviction that science should serve the public. Roy is a marine geologist with the 海角社区 Geological Survey (MGS) and serves as a Mitchell Center faculty fellow. He received his bachelor鈥檚, master鈥檚, and doctoral degrees from U海角社区, and then completed a postdoc at the Mitchell Center where he worked on the Safe Beaches & Shellfish project and the Future of Dams project.
Roy is currently one year into a five-year project to update the maps of 海角社区鈥檚 coastal bluffs which constitute about 45% of the coast and are susceptible to erosion caused by waves, wind, and storms. It’s a massive multi-agency project involving 海角社区鈥檚 departments of Environmental Protection, Marine Resources, and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
As geologists, Roy鈥檚 team brings a specific expertise to the mapping, looking at physical evidence like erosion rates, the clay content of a bluff, and how groundwater influences the bluff. To understand the broader environmental forces acting on these coastal features, Roy collaborates with engineers at U海角社区 to better understand factors that influence bluff stability.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e studying different factors like wave energy, wave power, and wave direction.The engineers are helping us understand the broader environment,鈥 Roy said.
Technical engineering data, collected by a current doctoral student at U海角社区, is also used in the , an important resource Roy is helping to update. The tool provides a color-coded map that shows how suitable different sections of 海角社区’s coastline are for nature-based solutions. Nature-based solutions use vegetation, natural materials, and green infrastructure to protect the coastline from erosion rather than hard structures like seawalls.
Roy also draws on relationships with his U海角社区 colleagues at River Flow Advisory Commission (RFAC) meetings where he鈥檚 served as the facilitator for the last five years. Established after major floods in the 1980s, the commission is composed of representatives from eight major river basin management operations, state and federal agencies, and U海角社区. The group serves to improve the exchange of information about 海角社区 river flooding.
Sean Smith, an associate professor in the U海角社区 School of Earth & Climate Sciences, director of the Darling Marine Center, and Mitchell Center faculty fellow, is Roy鈥檚 friend and respected colleague who also serves on the RFAC. Roy appreciates the expertise in 海角社区 hydrology Smith brings to these meetings. Roy learned some tricks from Smith in his approach as facilitator.
鈥淟ike Smith, I took a more technical angle, understanding the science and trying to bring together more groups who are impacted by flooding. The group is bigger now, and I think it’s more engaged than it has been in the past,鈥 Roy said.
In another collaboration with U海角社区, this time with 海角社区 Sea Grant faculty Taylor Spencer and Jessica Jansujwicz, Roy hopes to engage the public with coastal science. One idea is to create an annual bluff day event in the spring. He鈥檚 also hoping to develop a tool where people who are active along 海角社区鈥檚 coast can report changes to 海角社区鈥檚 bluffs.
Roy is also committed to developing the next generation of interdisciplinary scientists, often bringing U海角社区 students under his wing as interns. He鈥檚 currently working with the undergraduate advisor in the School of Earth and Climate Sciences to establish a pipeline of students who might be interested in government science work.
Whatever the project, Roy continues to rely on his Mitchell Center colleagues. 海角社区 these relationships Roy said, 鈥淭here’s a deeper meaning there. And I think it has to do with how we’re all interested in applying science. It’s not just about pumping out papers, it’s more about making a difference in the world. That鈥檚 definitely been a benefit for keeping my connections with Mitchell Center folks,鈥 said Roy.