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July 2019

Sea Grant Announces 2020 Finalists for the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program

The 2020 finalists for the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship program will become the 41th class of one of the most prestigious marine policy fellowships in the U.S. The 69 finalists represent 28 of the 34 Sea Grant programs. Since 1979, Sea Grant has provided one-year Knauss fellowships to early career professionals to work in federal government offices in Washington, D.C. to over 1,300 early professionals.

Sea Grant Announces 2020 Finalists for the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program Read More>

Me in the field.

From No to Ph.D: a journey from imposter to scientist

By Zac Cannizzo

“Not for you. You just don’t have the mind for science.” The words of my 8th grade science teacher when I asked to be placed in Biology for my freshman year. It hurt. I always liked science, and I loved biology. Some of my earliest memories are watching Jack Hanna’s Animal Adventures. From a young age, I wanted to be a biologist. But, I guess it wasn’t for me. I guess I’m not smart enough. I guess maybe I need to do something else. I just don’t have the mind for science.

Two years. I believed her for two years.

From No to Ph.D: a journey from imposter to scientist Read More>

Look for the Helpers: Conservation-Focused Research amidst Environmental Crises

By: Andie Chan. I pressed my SCUBA mask to my face as I back rolled off a small catamaran into the warm tropical waters of the Florida Keys. It was my first time SCUBA diving for my Ph.D. research, and I was eager to prove myself. I was starting a project on increasing our understanding of the reproduction and population sizes of pillar corals using genetic techniques, so I needed to collect small pieces of tissue from multiple colonies to bring back to the lab at Penn State. Fortunately, pillar corals at this dive site in Key Largo were conspicuous and prevalent. I swam along a 60 meter stretch of upward-reaching colonies that looked almost furry with their tentacles moving in the current. With great care, I took a small amount of tissue from several colonies to minimize wounding these animals – many of which were likely hundreds of years old.

Look for the Helpers: Conservation-Focused Research amidst Environmental Crises Read More>

NOAA, partners release harmful algal bloom forecast for western Lake Erie

The Lake Erie Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Seasonal Forecast, produced by NOAA and released with Ohio Sea Grant, gives coastal managers, lake users, and drinking water facility operators a general sense of the potential severity of the upcoming bloom season. NOAA is forecasting a large bloom for 2019, with a severity index greater than 7. The index is based on the bloom’s biomass – the amount of harmful or toxic algae – over a sustained period.  Last year’s bloom had a severity of 3.6 and the 2017 bloom had a severity of 8.

NOAA, partners release harmful algal bloom forecast for western Lake Erie Read More>

Switching Up Your Communication Style

In the academic world, communication comes in the form of peer-reviewed papers, theses or dissertations, seminar talks, conference talks, and posters. All long format and so deep into the science that you’re no longer certain what language they’re speaking. So, what do you do when you’ve been trained in those styles of communication for the past five years and you begin a communications position in the federal government as part of the Knauss fellowship program for a climate modeling program?

Switching Up Your Communication Style Read More>

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