Conrad Blucher Institute for Surveying & Science

Conrad Blucher Institute for Surveying & Science CBI maps, measures, and manages data to predict the physical environment and support decision making.

The CBI, part of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi has achieved and maintains a national reputation for developing innovative geospatial science research and serves as a focused resource area for geospatial datasets relevant to the coastal environment. The institute is also home to two degree programs: a bachelor's degree in Geographic Information Science and a master's degree in Geospatial Surveying Engineering.

A new real-time water level sensor is now collecting data in Sargent, Texas, following a successful installation by CBI ...
10/02/2026

A new real-time water level sensor is now collecting data in Sargent, Texas, following a successful installation by CBI researchers and Texas Sea Grant.

Led by CBI's Dr. Philippe Tissot, the effort is part of a larger initiative using locally deployed sensors to better understand and anticipate flooding in Texas coastal communities. The new installation at the Caney Creek Boat Ramp includes a Hohonu water level sensor and a cellular timelapse camera.

The real-time water level observations collected through the monitoring network can help researchers better understand when and where flooding occurs and support the development of AI models designed to improve flood prediction in coastal communities.

Joining Tissot for the installation were Texas Sea Grant's R.J. Shelly and Amy Nowlin. According to Tissot, the installation went smoothly, with only a little suspense while the team waited for the sensor's battery to report that it was healthy and ready to go!

Learn more about the Real-Time Water Level Monitoring initiative through Texas Sea Grant: https://texasseagrant.org/focus-areas/resilient-communities-and-economies/real-time-water-level-monitoring/

Congratulations to CBI's Mohammed Asad Khan and his teammates from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi on earning second...
09/30/2026

Congratulations to CBI's Mohammed Asad Khan and his teammates from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi on earning second place in Zoho’s inaugural “From the Ground Up” AI Hackathon!

The competition challenged college students from select rural and rural-serving universities across Texas and California to develop practical AI solutions to address environmental challenges facing rural communities, including water scarcity, wildfire risk, and agricultural instability. From the submitted proposals, just five teams advanced to the finals, including Mohammed's team, Team NoMiMo.

Their team chose to tackle an issue particularly close to home: water resource management in South Texas. Their project, BASIN, is a locally run, transparent AI tool that generates and ranks auditable drought "what-if" scenarios from public precipitation data, helping Region N planners, hydrologists, and rural water providers prioritize which worsening drought conditions deserve costly formal hydrologic modeling.

BASIN carried the team all the way to the competition finals, an accomplishment that showcases the team's collective ingenuity and ability to apply technology to real challenges facing the communities around them.

ICYMI: NGS is hosting a webinar this Thursday, Oct. 1, offering an overview of the newly released beta products and tool...
09/28/2026

ICYMI: NGS is hosting a webinar this Thursday, Oct. 1, offering an overview of the newly released beta products and tools supporting the modernized National Spatial Reference System (NSRS).

🗓️ Overview of the Beta Release of the Products & Tools of the Modernized NSRS
Thursday, Oct. 1 | 1–2 PM CT
The webinar will introduce the products and tools now available for beta testing and public feedback.

For surveyors and geospatial professionals, this is an opportunity to explore the new tools firsthand and provide feedback to NGS during the beta period. Your feedback will help inform the resources that will support the transition to the modernized NSRS.

🔗 Register for the webinar: https://events-na13.adobeconnect.com/content/connect/c1/2358677976/en/events/event/shared/10663733666/event_landing.html?sco-id=10663741076&_charset_=utf-8

Last week, CBI Executive Director Dr. Richard Smith took the stage as a keynote speaker at the Texas Civil Engineering C...
09/23/2026

Last week, CBI Executive Director Dr. Richard Smith took the stage as a keynote speaker at the Texas Civil Engineering Conference (CECON 2026), exploring a challenge that begins with a simple assumption: that we know where things are.

In his presentation, “Reference Points in Motion: Measuring a Dynamic Earth for Resilient Texas Infrastructure,” Dr. Smith discussed how the ground beneath Texas is anything but still and why those changes matter for the engineers designing infrastructure intended to last for decades.

Drawing on more than three decades of continuous coastal and land observations at CBI, he examined how modern measurement tools such as Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) are quantifying millimeter-scale surface deformation across Texas, and what those measurements mean for infrastructure asset management, flood risk, and long-term planning.

The talk also looked ahead to the modernized National Spatial Reference System that is scheduled to rollout in the coming year and explained what changes when horizontal and vertical coordinates carry a timestamp.

Fun fact: Did you know our Executive Director's favorite food is chicken fried steak with cream (not brown) gravy?If you...
09/23/2026

Fun fact: Did you know our Executive Director's favorite food is chicken fried steak with cream (not brown) gravy?

If you're a TSPS member, be sure to look for the Member Spotlight on Dr. Rick Smith in TSPS' latest issue of The Texas Surveyor Magazine. In the highlight, he shares what drew him to the field, advice for those just starting out, and the benefits of being involved in TSPS.

CBI’s Dr. Philippe Tissot (not pictured) and Miranda White joined others from the Texas Marine Coldwater Response Collab...
09/21/2026

CBI’s Dr. Philippe Tissot (not pictured) and Miranda White joined others from the Texas Marine Coldwater Response Collaboration (TCRC) last month to present at the 2026 GICA Seminar in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Addressing Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association (GICA) members and representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the pair shared how TCRC partners use collaborative planning and CBI-developed AI models to anticipate extreme cold events in the Laguna Madre and inform decisions surrounding temporary navigation and dredging interruptions. The presentation also offered an opportunity to discuss an increasingly important piece of putting AI into practice: building trust in model predictions among the people who use them to make real-world decisions.

📣 The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) has refreshed its BETA site for the modernized National Spatial Reference System (N...
09/18/2026

📣 The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) has refreshed its BETA site for the modernized National Spatial Reference System (NSRS), with several updated tools and products now available to explore and test.

Among the updates now live:
▶️ Data Delivery System (DDS): A new gateway for finding and accessing geodetic data, featuring updated maps and station pages.
▶️ OPUS Static: Now generating solutions in the 2022 terrestrial reference frames, including State Plane coordinates and geoid heights.
▶️ NCAT (Coordinate Conversion Tool): Available for converting between the current and modernized NSRS, including coordinate transformations and geopotential calculations.

The site also includes finalized (but not yet official) BETA versions of several major components of the modernized NSRS, including NAPGD2022, which will replace NAVD 88; the four 2022 terrestrial reference frames, which will replace NAD 83; and SPCS2022, the updated State Plane Coordinate System.

NGS has indicated that the feedback period will remain open through at least March 2027, giving users time to test these products against their own data and workflows before they are finalized. Surveyors and geospatial professionals are encouraged to explore the tools and share feedback with NGS at [email protected].

🌐 Explore the BETA site: https://beta.ngs.noaa.gov

NGS will also host a series of public webinars in the coming weeks providing more information about these products and how NSRS modernization will affect geospatial workflows.

The Texas Spatial Reference Center (TSRC) will continue sharing updates and resources as the transition to the modernized NSRS moves forward. For the latest news, sign up for our TSRC newsletter: www.conradblucherinstitute.org/contact-tsrc

CBI’s Dr. Michael J. Starek and Geospatial Science Ph.D. student José A. Pilartes-Congo took research to the internation...
09/17/2026

CBI’s Dr. Michael J. Starek and Geospatial Science Ph.D. student José A. Pilartes-Congo took research to the international stage at the 2026 International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) in Washington, D.C.! José presented “PlanetScope-Based DSM Generation: Super Resolution and Monocular Height Estimation for Surface Change Detection,” while Dr. Starek presented “From Visualization to Surveying: 3D Scene Representations with Novel View Synthesis” on behalf of Geospatial Computer Science Ph.D. student Esther Oladoyin.

When temperatures plunge in the Laguna Madre, every degree matters. CBI’s Coastal Dynamics Lab has launched an updated A...
09/16/2026

When temperatures plunge in the Laguna Madre, every degree matters.

CBI’s Coastal Dynamics Lab has launched an updated AI prediction model designed to forecast air and water temperatures and provide advance warning of conditions that can lead to fish kills and sea turtle cold-stunning events.

Led by Ph.D. student Miranda White and the 'Cool Turtles' student research team, the model builds on years of CBI research to give coastal stakeholders better information for coordinating response efforts and protecting marine life during extreme cold events.

🔗 Check out the live predictions: https://sherlock-prod.tamucc.edu/flare/crps

This week: CBI's Amanda Jonas, RPLS and TSRC Director, will be providing insight on NGS' modernization of the National S...
09/15/2026

This week: CBI's Amanda Jonas, RPLS and TSRC Director, will be providing insight on NGS' modernization of the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) at the TSPS Chapter 17 El Paso Seminar. The session will cover updated timelines, what the changes mean for Texas surveyors, TSRC's role in the transition, and where practitioners can access resources and updates.

🗓 Saturday, Sept. 19, afternoon
📍TxDOT HQ (13301 Gateway Blvd W in El Paso, TX)
🔗 For info/registration: https://members.tsps.org/atlas/events/20005169/details

Address

6300 Ocean Drive , Unit 5799
Corpus Christi, TX
78412

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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+13618255850

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