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CMPS News
2025 News
November 9-14, 2025 - Professor Mark Luther, Director of the USF Center for Maritime and Port Studies (CMPS), and CMPS Technical Director Dr. Laura Azevedo hosted the Underwater Minerals Conference (UMC) in St. Pete Beach, FL, November 9-14, 2025. First convened in 1970, this year鈥檚 UMC had its largest recorded attendance. Participants discussed a range of topics related to extraction of underwater minerals, including where and what type of ocean deposits exist, technologies for safely obtaining these resources, protection and monitoring of ecological systems during operations, and policies and regulations pertaining to these issues. CMPS Chief Scientist Dr. Steven Meyers spoke on the role of met-ocean data to support this rapidly developing industry. Professor John Wiltshire, University of Hawai鈥榠 and outgoing president of the International Marine Minerals Society (IMMS), provided opening remarks, followed by a welcome from USF College of Marine Science Dean Tom Frazer. The featured speaker at the dinner was Michael Lodge, former Secretary General of the International Seabed Authority. Professor Luther will succeed Professor Wiltshire as President of IMMS in 2026.
November 4, 2025 - The USF Center for Maritime and Port Studies partnered with the USF Global and National Security Institute to host the Port & Maritime Security: Risks and Resilience conference that took place November 4th and 5th 2025 at Port Tampa Bay. 爱污传媒's 16 deepwater ports contribute $117 billion annually to the state鈥檚 economy and support nearly one million jobs. More than 100 million tons of cargo are moved through the ports each year and they welcome millions of cruise passengers. Yet with this scale and complexity comes immense responsibility 鈥� and growing vulnerability. Notable speakers at the conference were 爱污传媒 Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins, GNSI Executive Director General (Ret) Frank McKenzie, 爱污传媒 Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass, National Transportation Safety Board Member J. Todd Inman, and others from both the public and private sectors.
2023 News
CMPS Scientist to be Lead Editor for Frontiers Special Issue
CMPS Chief Scientist Steven Meyers, Ph.D., has been selected as Lead Editor for a special issue of Frontiers in Marine Science on the topic 鈥淎dvances in Ship Wake Studies鈥�. Meyers will work with co-editors from the US Army Corps of Engineers. In coastal areas, ship wakes can erode shorelines, submerge habitat, and increase water turbidity, as well as impact coastal structures and other vessels. Near large ports there can be several thousand vessel transits per year. The special issue will provide a unique and needed set of research articles discussing the latest in ship wake studies, ranging from theoretical advancements, numerical simulations, field measurements, and their implications for coastal conservation and vessel operations. Manuscripts for the issue are due July 31, 2023.
Further information can be found at .
2021 News
CMPS Assists Response to Piney Point Wastewater Spill
2020 News
CMPS Study Examines Impact of Sea Level Rise on Vessel Navigation in Tampa Bay