The Planet Ocean Seminar Series is free and open to the public. Seminars are currently run as both in-person and virtual events, so registration is required. Once you register to attend virtually, you will receive the link to join the webinar. For further information, please call the UNCW Center for Marine Science at 910.962.2301.
2026-27 Series
Sept. 8, 2026
The Challenge of Rip Currents:
Forecasting, Detecting and Communicating an Underrated Hazard
with Dr. Greg Dusek
Rip currents are the leading hazard at U.S. beaches and the third-highest cause of weather-related deaths nationwide. Yet this underrated danger remains hard to monitor and predict, and keeping people safe in the water remains a real challenge. In this seminar, learn what rip currents are, how they form, and what to look for when trying to spot one at the beach. Greg Dusek will discuss how the first national rip current forecast model was built at NOAA, and how AI is now being used to detect and track rip currents in coastal webcam imagery. He will also cover how scientists are rethinking the way we communicate rip current risk, drawing on social science research, recent beach safety videos, and a virtual reality rip current experience.
Greg Dusek is a physical oceanographer and Principal at Dusek Coastal Science & Consulting, and Adjunct Associate Professor at NC State University. His research focuses on advancing coastal hazard monitoring and prediction through data-driven methods. Greg has studied rip currents for more than 20 years and, in 2021, developed and put into operation NOAA’s first national rip current model, which forecasts hazardous rip current conditions up to six days in advance. Other recent projects include the development of a national coastal webcam observing system and a seasonal high-tide flooding model. Prior to consulting, Greg spent more than 14 years at NOAA, most recently as Chief Scientist for the Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) from 2015–2025, where he led numerous interagency and cross-NOAA efforts. Earlier in his NOAA career, he was an oceanographer on the Coastal and Estuarine Currents Team, leading physical oceanographic field and data-driven research projects. He earned his doctorate in physical oceanography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where his research focused on coastal processes and rip currents.
- To attend in person, please rsvp: CMS_EA@uncw.edu or 910.962.2301
- Webinar registration
2025-26 Series
Apr. 14, 2026
Exploring Fish Diversity Across North Carolina's Reef Ecosystems
with Dr. Matthew McLean
WATCH THE RECORDED SEMINAR
Feb. 10, 2026
Reinventing Resilience: Where Do We Go From Here?
with Dr. Jessica Whitehead
Nov. 11, 2025
Opening Pandora’s Box and the Ethics of Science: A History of Genetic Engineering Debates
with Dr. Nathan P. Crowe
Sept. 9, 2025
Lessons Learned from Hurricane Helene,
Messaging Challenges, and the 2025 Hurricane Season
with Steven Pfaff
watch recorded seminar
2024-25 Series
Feb. 11, 2025
Axial Seamount, the Pacific Northwest's Most Active Undersea Volcano
with Dr. Scott Nooner, Professor in Earth & Ocean Sciences
Nov. 12, 2024
The Surface Water and Ocean Topography Mission:
NASA's New Eye in the Sky for Earth's Water
with Dr. Tamlin Pavelsky
Sept. 10, 2024
The Long-Lost Nile Branch May Help Solve the Riddle
Surrounding the Placement of the Largest Egyptian Pyramids Field
with Dr. Eman Ghoneim
2023-24 Series
Apr. 9, 2024
Emerging Challenges for Coastal Birds:
Sea Level Rise, Heat, and Disturbance
with Dr. Ray Danner
watch recorded webinar
Feb. 13, 2024
Robotic Oceanography:
Expanding the Impact from Science to Decision-Making
with Dr. Catherine Edwards
watch recorded webinar
Nov. 14, 2023
Sensory Systems to Self-Driving Cars:
Science at the Intersection of Mechanism, Theory, and Opportunity
with Dr. Lorian Schweikert
Dr. Schweikert's Lab
Sep. 12, 2023
An Overview of Marine Mammal Research at UNCW
with Dr. Michael Tift
2022-2023 Series
April 18, 2023
Conservation in a Changing Climate: Impacts on Seagrass Resiliency and Restoration
with Drs. Jessie Jarvis and Stephanie Kamel
Watch recorded seminar
Feb. 7, 2023
The Climate Crisis: Where We Are, What We Can Do
with Dr. Maureen Raymo
Nov. 15, 2022
Ten Things I Learned from Studying the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill for a Decade
with Dr. Steven A. Murawski
WATCH RECORDED SEMINAR
Sept. 13, 2022
A Tale of Two Brothers: Art Meets Science in the Open Sea
with Dr. Sönke Johnsen
WATCH RECORDED SEMINAR
VIEW PREVIOUS PLANET OCEAN TOPICS
