Meet Undergraduate Fellow Amin Neal, Who Uses Coding to Support Marine Conservation Efforts

The North Carolina Coastal Federation (NCCF) is preparing science students from the North Carolina State University's Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST) and North Carolina Central University (NCCU) to take on the country's conservation and coastal resilience challenges. NOAA's Office of Habitat Conservation is funding this initiative through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.

Amin Neal recently completed a 10-week undergraduate research fellowship at CMAST. The rising sophomore spent the summer generating code to track the movements of sand tiger sharks.

What got you interested in marine sciences?

For the first few years of my life, I lived on St. Croix and always wanted to be in the ocean. I like the ocean, I like animals, and I like science, so I might as well combine those three things. Before this semester, I wanted to do marine science, but being on the NC State campus in Raleigh, which is not next to the ocean, I really had no idea what marine scientists even do.

Can you tell us about the fellowship and what you are studying?

I'm studying under Dr. Carol Price, doing something called Spot A Shark. We take photos and videos of sand tiger sharks, put them through an algorithm, and map their spots. Sand tiger sharks have a unique set of spots that are basically like fingerprints to them. So, if we identify the pattern through an algorithm, we can identify individual sharks and track their movements for conservation efforts.

I've also been able to do a lot of other things. I participated in a field necropsy on a stranded dolphin and raised and released gopher frogs [which are locally endangered] with the Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium.

Has this experience helped you to decide what you want to pursue in the future?

I'm still figuring out what career path to pursue, which was the biggest reason I came to CMAST. I like marine science, but I also really like computer science and programming. Before this, I thought those were two very separate things. But the more I'm here, the more I realize they're very intertwined, and it's a valuable skill to learn. I will major in marine science with a concentration in biological oceanography.

Additional partners include:

• North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
• Research Triangle Institute, International
• North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island

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