Since 1981 SEASPACE, Inc. has awarded over $335,000 to 347 college students pursuing degrees in the marine/aquatic sciences while attending US universities. These students have demonstrated excellence in their academic records and need for financial assistance. This year we have selected nine individuals from fifty-three applicants to share in a total of $20,000 funded by the proceeds generated by the SEASPACE weekend. Scholarship committee members are Claudia Ludwig, Barbara Stiranka, Jim Ward, Jesse Cancelmo, Dick Zingula, and Carolyn Peterson.
Abigail Knee studies Marine Biology at the University of Rhode Island. She is particularly interested in the chemical and physical processes which govern the survival and perpetuation of life in the oceans. For instance, how do vent organisms maintain/enlarge their populations? She would like to pursue a graduate degree in biological oceanography.
David Ramjohn is an undergraduate in Marine Biology at the College of Charleston. He intends to become a natural resource manager, specifically marine resources, and an educator. David would like to become familiar with all aspects of marine research so that he may coordinate and direct study projects.
Nicole Vollmer is a student at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She is following two areas of research. The first is determining the optimal conditions for ensuring survival of Spartina alternifora in man-made salt marshes. The second area is two-fold: studying the signature whistles produced by bottlenose dolphins and helping to identify their southeastern North Carolina population.
Jena Bills is working towards her master's degree in Marine Biology at San Francisco State University. Her research interests are marine ecology and the development of marine invasion prevention techniques. Jena is researching the efficacy of an integrated ballast water treatment system and its potential application in cargo vessels and cruise ships. She hopes to use her expertise and knowledge to encourage further efforts to prevent biological invasions and conserve biodiversity. She received SEASPACE awards in 1999 and 2001.
Mikhail Blikshteyn is a graduate student in Fisheries Science at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. He is trying to determine the causes of a 20-year decrease in salmon production by studying the competition and feeding overlap between juvenile pink, chum, and sockeye salmon, all of which are economically important. His work may reveal how their resource partitioning affects the abundance of the three salmon species at sea and may improve the long-term management of their stocks. He plans to work towards his Ph.D. in fish population ecology. Mikhail was a SEASPACE recipient in 1999 and 2001.
David Burdick studies the environment at the University of Charleston. The aim of his study is to assess the viability of direct human intervention in the restoration of coral reef ecosystems. By the manual removal of macroalgae from coral skeletons and the artificial increase of the long-spined sea urchin to provide herbivore pressure, David hypothesizes coral recruitment and herbivorous fish biomass may be enhanced. He plans to pursue his doctorate in marine biology/ecology.
Caroline Delong, a 1999 and 2001 SEASPACE winner, is working towards her doctorate in Psychology at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. Her goal is to determine which elements of signals received by dolphins, both visually and echoically, represent certain object features, such as intensity, size, shape or texture. Her research may translate over to human endeavors in the development and training in the use of "sonar sunglasses" for the blind. She plans to pursue a position in academics so she can teach and continue her research interests.
Virginia Shervette is a doctoral student in Fisheries at Texas A & M University at College Station. There are few studies which conclusively verify the function of mangroves as essential nursery grounds in Ecuador. She is attempting to answer the following questions: 1) Have shrimp farming and deforestation of mangroves affected fish habitats? 2) How do these habitats function in the life history of the Cynoscion species (red drum and speckled trout)? 3) What do mangrove habitats contribute to these commercially important species? Ultimately, Virginia would like to work for a non-profit group towards the conservation of marine ecosystems.
Jacqueline Tront is pursuing her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Decades of indiscriminate application of pesticides and herbicides have resulted in the accumulation of contaminants in wetlands and surface water systems. The use of aquatic plants systems to uptake and degrade these contaminants provide a method of natural detoxification and restoration of the aquatic system. Her research explores the fate of contaminants in aquatic plants. Jacqueline would like a faculty position in Environmental Engineering.
| NAME | UNIVERSITY | MAJOR |
| Undergraduates/Beginning Graduates | ||
| Abigail Knee | University of Rhode Island | Marine Biology |
| David Ramjohn | College of Charleston | Marine Biology |
| Nicole Vollmer | University of North Carolina at Wilmington | Marine Biology |
| Graduates | ||
| Jena Bills | San Francisco State University | Marine Biology |
| Mikhail Blikshteyn | University of Alaska at Fairbanks | Fisheries Science |
| David Burdick | University of Charleston | Marine Environment |
| Caroline Delong | University of Hawaii in Honolulu | Psychology |
| Virginia Shervette | Texas A & M University at College Station | Fisheries |
| Jacqueline Tront | Georgia Institute of Technology | Environmental Engineering |
Last updated on 5/15/2002, by PDM
SEASPACE, Inc.
P.O. Box 3753
Houston, TX 77253-3753
(713) 467-6675
SEASPACE, Inc. is a 501(c)3 corporation
