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At its recent biennial meeting in San Diego, California, the Sea Grant Extension Assembly awarded its William Q. Wick Award for Visionary Career Leadership. Learn about the winner and nominees.
During Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW) 2019, Sea Grant and the Women’s Aquatic Network collaborated to host a brown bag lunch session on Increasing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Coastal, Marine and Ocean Science Workforce. Four panelists, including those from government and non-government sectors, offered inspiring, specific and candid remarks during the packed session, which had standing room only.
Shauna Oh, a leader in California’s marine science community, has been named as the new director of California Sea Grant. She will join the program on February 20th. The appointment follows a nationwide search by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, which hosts the program.
With an extensive background in a wide range of environmental, scientific and marine policy issues, Penny Dalton has served as Washington Sea Grant’s director since 2005.
“By training the next generation of fishers through a hands-on mentorship program, scientists and fishers hope to feed the world for many lifetimes.”
Paul C. Focazio, New York Sea Grant Five years post-Sandy, Helen Cheng says the superstorm “still looms in the memories of our stakeholders, but I’m
A blog written by and about fellows funded by Maryland Sea Grant provides valuable experience in communicating about science.
Virginia Sea Grant’s Advanced Science Communication Seminar challenged graduate student scientists to develop a communication tool that explains their research to the public. One graduate student’s infographic about sea turtle strandings ended up crossing institutional boundaries.
Maine Sea Grant education and professional training programs help recruit and retain a workforce skilled in disciplines critical to the ecological health, economic vitality, and
Yale graduate student’s project selected by Connecticut Sea Grant’s 2016 Arts Funding Program
Highlights of California Sea Grant's State Fellowship program
Connecticut Sea Grant's Education Coordinator had the opportunity to assess strategic benefits for integrating Ocean Literacy into research and training strategies with experts from the US, Japan, Canada, and the European Union as a participant of the Fulbright Specialist Program.
Most of the Sea Grant Knauss fellows work for the Executive branch of the government, making a difference in federal agencies throughout the Washington, DC area.
Every year, up to ten Knauss fellows work on Capitol Hill, providing expertise for congressional offices and committees working on marine and aquatic legislation.
" Sea Grant is about the community we are connected to. We are a small staff, but we collaborate with a myriad of organizations to conduct research and get the word out about Connecticut’s coastal and maritime resources and challenges. Our strength is in our partnerships."
” I am focusing on identifying needs in the areas of outreach and education, as well as the production, safety, sustainability and marketability of seafood.”
" Interacting with people and helping them, that’s the heart of Sea Grant."
New Hampshire Sea Grant has assisted with the assembly of an aquaculture raft that will provide year-round local fish and shellfish, as well as promote integrated multi-trophic aquaculture in New England.
Here at MIT Sea Grant, we decided to create a directory of social scientists. We anticipated that this directory would be very valuable for scholars seeking expertise in other fields for interdisciplinary projects; for journals interested in identifying peer reviewers; for graduate students who need mentors or outside committee members; and for managers who have issues that would benefit from addressing social-cultural factors or other aspects of human dimensions.
An Oregon Sea Grant Extension Agent is featured in an Oregon State University project.
" I get to work with some of the most passionate, smart, and genuine people I have ever met, helping them to manage and protect some of the most beautiful and unique places in the country. "
” Since I didn't have a marine science or oceanography background, the Sea Grant Knauss fellowship opened the door for me at NOAA and within policy. It can also do this for others.”
It's Safe Boating Week. Recreational anglers are also boaters. On Lake Michigan, those recreational anglers need to be aware of safety concerns surrounding commercial fishing trap nets. That's where Wisconsin Sea Grant steps in, sharing maps showing net locations.
Leaders who are helping their coastal communities adapt to sea level rise, increases in heavy precipitation and flooding need additional technical, human and financial assistance to do so, according to a report by a 2014 New Hampshire Sea Grant Doyle Fellow.
“If you are at all thinking about marine science policy, definitely apply for the fellowship!”
While many Sea Grant agents work with commercial fisheries, Sheffield’s role is unique. There are few commercial fisheries in the north of Alaska – the primary fishery there is a subsistence one. A study done on Saint Lawrence Island, in the southern Bering Strait, found that 80 percent of the population ate only subsistence food an average of 5 days per week.
Dr. John Jacob takes a holistic approach to educating citizens and local officials, noting that the watershed is affected by a wide range of activities from landscaping and other things people do around their homes to large urban planning and habitat protection activities.
David Hart is Assistant Director for Extension with the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute and a Senior Scientist with the UW Aquatic Sciences Center. His research and outreach spans geographic information science, urban planning, and coastal management.
“I use the skills I gained from my experience as a Knauss fellow on a daily basis in my career. The writing and policy analysis skills that I developed as a fellow have been critical. In addition, while at the Commission, we worked with 16 commissioners with diverse backgrounds to develop a consensus report. The experience of working with a group like that to evaluate stakeholder input, discuss policy ideas and develop recommendations has been valuable.” – Angela Gustavson
I use so many of the skills and experiences I gained as a Knauss fellow at my current position. I remained in the Army Corps after my fellowship and I continue to work with many of my former coworkers. I learn new things every day about my agency.
“I truly believe the opportunity that I was given as a Knauss Fellow has led to the fact that I have been in D.C. for 10 years. My job in Sam Farr’s office gave me the launching pad for my career that ultimately led to the White House,” – Jessican Maher
This project developed a participatory, place-based approach for assessing the vulnerability and resilience of Maine fishing communities, documenting threats and resources available to respond to those threats. To understand the forces driving vulnerability, Johnson and graduate students Cameron Thompson and Anna Henry worked with community stakeholders to identify opportunities and strategies for improving resilience of fishing communities. They produced a summary report, entitled, “In Their Own Words: Fishermen’s Perspectives of Community Resilience.”
For Shelby Walker, a 2002 Knauss Fellowship seemed like a chance to take a break from the lab and consider her future. It wound up being a life-changing experience, one that would put her at the heart of groundbreaking ocean observation efforts and national ocean priority-setting, a key role in the federal response to the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster – and in 2014, at the helm of Oregon Sea Grant.
Jane is Wisconsin Sea Grant’s first social scientist, reflecting a new emphasis by Sea Grant to factor humans into its research program. She joined the Advisory Services team in October of 2012.
Katie Williams was the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Funded graduate student on the Impact Based Warning System assessment working with Extension Agent Dr. Jane Harrison.
Katherine E. Bunting-Howarth (Kathy) became the Associate Director for New York Sea Grant and an Assistant Director for Cornell Cooperative Extension in April of 2011. She leads a group of talented Extension Associates located in a number of offices along the many diverse coasts of New York State.
Caitie McCoy is Illinois Indiana Sea Grant's environmental social scientist. Caitie is focused on communities interested or involved with the Great Lakes Legacy Act, which provides resources to clean up U.S. EPA Areas of Concern.
Former Vice President Al Gore gave a rousing seminar to discuss climate change science and sustainability at University of Hawaii Sea Grant.
Sea Grant greats were honored with Sunset Career Awards at the Great Lakes Regional Sea Grant Meeting in Erie, PA June 16-18, 2014. They all plan to retire before the next Great Lakes Regional Meeting so they were asked to each share some words of wisdom.
Michael Slattery first got involved with Sea Grant during his Ph.D. program when Sea Grant funded a portion of his research into rip currents. He is now a coastal processes extension specialist and works on rip current outreach and awareness.
Dr. Chris Houser is an Associate Professor in Geography and Geology and Geophysics at Texas A&M University. His general area of expertise is geomorphology, the study of the natural features of the earth and the physical processes that shape them.
As the summer beach season opens, Spencer Rogers of North Carolina Sea Grant has new tools to better understand dangerous rip currents.
Bob Guza is a California Sea Grant funded researcher. He is an Integrative Oceanography Division Professor, Oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California, San Diego.
Elizabeth LaPorte works with colleagues at U-M and MSU to ensure the alignment of Sea Grant’s activities with the mission of the National Sea Grant College Program and the needs of Michigan’s stakeholders. She identifies opportunities to leverage research through public outreach and education.
Dennis Hwang combines his science and law background to concentrate on implementing science into decisions of the community so that hurricane, tsunami, flood, erosion, wind and earthquake impacts are mitigated. He authored the Hawai'i Coastal Hazard Mitigation Guidebook, which is used in the land use process in Hawai'i.
As Southern Maine Marine Extension Associate, Kristen has worked in that region of the state since 1999. Her office in Wells is housed at the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, facilitating partnerships with NOAA colleagues there. The majority of Kristen's work focuses on the interactions between the people, the resources, and the ecosystems of the coast.
As New York Sea Grant's Web Content Manager, Paul Focazio oversees the development and production of New York Sea Grant's Web site, e-newsletter (Currents) and all social media platforms. The program's virtual presence not only includes downloads of NYSG's Coastlines newsletter, for which Focazio writes, but also features sub-sites for all extension staff and a number of special research and education initiatives.
As Texas Sea Grant’s Coastal Planning Specialist, Heather Wade helps communities on the Texas coast plan for the future. With a toolkit that includes the Coastal Resilience Index, weTable and Community Health and Resources Management (CHARM) model, she leads community leaders through workshops that help them determine their readiness and plan for future needs with respect to coastal hazards, green infrastructure, water quality impairment and other issues related to sustainable development.
Scott Schiff, Ph.D. is a Professor of Civil Engineering at Clemson University. His areas of interest are: earthquake and wind engineering, wood engineering, low-rise building engineering, bridge engineering, and experimental investigation of structures.
Robert Beardsley is a scientist emeritus of physical oceanography at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and Changsheng Chen leads the Marine Ecosystem Dynamics Modeling Research Laboratory at UMASS Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science and Technology.
Kodi Monroe is a Weather and Climate Extension Agent at the NOAA-funded Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies (CIMMS) and is affiliated with the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) in Norman, Oklahoma.
The California Sea Grant State Fellows Program provides a unique educational opportunity for graduate students who are interested both in marine policy and resource management. The program allows students to explore opportunities outside academia while gaining job experience, and provides California State agencies with exceptional workers.
David White is the Recreation/Tourism Specialist and Great Lakes Program Coordinator for the New York Sea Grant Extension Program. Dave has been with Sea Grant since November of 1984 and is located at the State University of New York College at Oswego.
Torie Baker is the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program agent for the Prince William Sound region and is based in Cordova. As a MAP agent, she works with fishermen in marine safety training, business assistance and collaborative applied research. She is also a 20-year commercial salmon harvester in Prince William Sound, Copper River and Bristol Bay, and has worked extensively in Copper River salmon marketing initiatives. She holds a master's degree in adult education from the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Dr. Miller is Washington Sea Grant’s coastal hazards specialist, working out of Peninsula College in Port Angeles as well as University of Washington’s Olympic Natural Resources Center in Forks. He works with coastal communities on the Olympic Peninsula to increase their ability to plan for and manage coastal hazards, including tsunami, chronic erosion, coastal flooding and hazards associated with climate change.
Dr. Kwok Fai Cheung's area of expertise is ocean wave modeling, which includes tsunamis. Sea Grant funded his research work on tsunami model development. His team worked with UNESCO to distribute the resulting model and provide training workshops to universities and government agencies around the world.
At Washington Sea Grant, Jamie provides expertise on emergency preparedness, hazard mitigation, and resilience for coastal communities. Jamie also serves as Washington Sea Grant’s liaison to the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, where she supports tsunami education and outreach in coordination with the Washington Military Department’s Emergency Management Division.
Patrick Corcoran is a coastal natural hazards specialist at Oregon Sea Grant based in Astoria, OR. His goal is to help coastal communities become more resilient to natural hazards.
The Pauley Seminar is Capstone of Ascent: Energy and Water Sustainability, Presented by: University of Hawai‘i at MÄnoa Chancellor Tom Apple, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz, and the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program April 15
Sea Grant is pleased to announce that Dr. LaDon Swann of the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium has been named NOAA Research Team Member of the Month for December 2013.
A collaborative effort between the University of the Aegean in Greece, the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks Northwest Campus is providing free real-time information to the public, about ship information and movements near Nome.
The National Academy of Sciences' Gulf of Mexico Program has appointed Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Director LaDon Swann to an advisory group that will create a strategic vision and guide the program’s development and implementation. The program will focus on human health, environmental protection and oil system safety in the Gulf of Mexico and the United States' Outer Continental Shelf.
Paula Cullenberg will be the new director of Alaska Sea Grant, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, starting in July 2013. Cullenberg takes the helm after serving as Alaska Sea Grant associate director since 2007, and as Marine Advisory Program leader since 2004.