Dr. Nastassia Jones is the Assistant Professor of Science Education at the University of the Virgin Islands and Managing Director of the Virgin Islands Institute of Stem Education Research and Practice funded by VI-EPSCoR. With few role models, and fewer resources, how did an African American girl from the south grow up to be a doctor, a scientist, and a college professor?

The invasive seagrass Halophila stipulacea continues to thrive in the Caribbean. Don't be surprised if you haven’t heard of it, this is a recent plant to colonize the USVI and it hasn't received a lot of attention from the public. H. stipulate is tenacious and competes efficiently for space with native seagrasses which struggle with man-made threats (anchor dredges, pollution, nutrient run-off). Adding to the problem, few species in the Territory consume it. 

Participants from CMES are contributing to the large scale operations of the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program in the territory. 

Despite all odds, coral reefs are thriving at depths of 100 – 300 feet right here in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Recent discoveries by scientists at the University of the Virgin Islands have shown that there are a great number of magnificent deep coral reefs in the area, particularly at the south side of St. Thomas on the Grammanik Bank and reaching out toward Culebra.