Sam Holberg

Bio

Advisor and Program

Celso Castro-Bolinaga
Biological and Agricultural Engineering, NC State University

About

Spending my summers in the Low Country of South Carolina, I have always been connected to the coast. I’ve witnessed firsthand the impacts of extreme storms, severe coastal erosion, and the critical role of ecosystems for coastal communities. My graduate experience has deepened my understanding of coastal dynamics and global change challenges. Whether through hurricane disaster reconnaissance in Western Florida or hydrodynamic modeling of rapidly expanding marine aquaculture areas in North Carolina, the tools I’ve gained have strengthened my commitment to addressing global issues faced by coastal communities. As a 2025-2026 Global Change Research Fellow, I look forward to applying my research skills to develop solutions that enhance climate resilience and sustainability for coastal communities. I am excited to collaborate with experts and other fellows to create actionable strategies that make a lasting impact.

Research Interests

My research is at the intersection of sediment transport, nature-based solutions, coastal resilience, and numerical modeling. For my master’s, I looked at how North Carolina’s oyster aquaculture industry alters water quality transport to advance farm best management practices. Additionally, I am looking at how oyster farms alter sediment composition locally, with the idea to leverage oyster farming as a sustainable and economic method of shoreline stabilization in highly erodible coastal areas. I am also researching how hazards, such as hurricanes or sea level rise, affect sediment dynamics and ecosystem functions at estuary scales.