LSU launches new studio to guide coastal efforts

State and university officials unveiled ambitious plans during a press conference this week for a new academic clearinghouse and professional training agency that will specialize in coastal challenges on the campus of Louisiana’s flagship university. In theory, the LSU Coastal Sustainability Studio will eventually become a worldwide source for restoring and protecting seaside landscapes that take on the brunt of everything from hurricanes and energy exploration to saltwater intrusion and commercial fishing. In coming months, a test case of restoration projects in parishes along the Mississippi River Delta will be conducted, says Robert Twilley, director of LSU Coastal Sustainability Agenda and an oceanography coastal sciences professor. He says that the studio will be a multi-disciplinary effort that will use the challenges of restoring and protecting the delta to develop new approaches and create smart policies for building more resilient communities. By doing so, the studio will also be a training ground of sorts for the engineers, biologists and other professionals who are expected to tackle this largely-unprecedented dual challenge of hurricane protection and coastal restoration – a task that could cost upwards to $100 billion over the coming decades. To read the full story, click here. — Jeremy Alford