Congratulations to the SEASPACE 2003 Scholarship Winners!

Since 1981 SEASPACE, Inc. has awarded over $355,000 to 367 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 eleven individuals from forty-nine 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, Robyn Rhea, Dick Zingula, and Carolyn Peterson.

Undergraduates/Beginning Graduates

Adam Branson will be entering his junior year at the University of North Carolina studying Marine Biology. He is creating a fish ear bone index to help identify specie specific prey. Another prospective project is the transplantation of coral from the lab to damaged reefs. Adam would like to pursue a masters so that he may eventually teach high school or university courses.

Lisa Marie Kamin is studying Marine Science/Biology at the University of Miami. She is currently involved in a tag and recapture study involving the bonefish which provides valuable information on movement patterns, stock structure, and growth rates. Lisa intends to pursue her doctorate in Marine Biology.

Matthew Trammell will be beginning his graduate degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Florida in the fall of 2003. He began his research project as an undergraduate and will continue on with this study. Its intent is to establish rip current threshold criteria for 1) the stability and persistence of rip currents, and 2) the identification of conditions under which these currents with sufficient magnitude constitute a public hazard. After graduation, he would like to be involved in the designing of ports and harbors, as well as artificial reefs.

Graduates

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, 2001, and 2002.

Heather D’Agnes is pursuing a double master's degree in Marine Affairs/Public Affairs at the University of Washington. She is researching the community operated Apo Island Protected Reserve in the Philippines as a coral reef management and conservation model for replication in other developing countries. Her career goal is to facilitate programs and policies management of endangered coastal areas in the Philippines and other biodiversity hot spots in the Western Pacific region.

Jason Alan Jones is a master's student at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in Marine Biology. His project will relate the health of various reefs within the Veracruz reef system to shore proximity, river overflow, pollution, and other man-induced pressures. Jason plans to pursue a marine research biologist career with emphasis on resource management and public education.

T. Aran Mooney is a Ph.D. candidate in Zoology at University of Hawaii. He is researching the usefulness of a new type of gillnet that may have increased acoustic reflectivity making detection easier for marine mammal sonar. This would reduce bottlenose dolphin and harbor porpoise bycatch in commercial fishing. He would like to teach biological subjects ranging from animal behavior to conservation biology to fisheries dynamics.

Katherine E. Mills is also a Ph.D. student in Natural Resources at Cornell University. In her dissertation research, she is attempting to evaluate the relative influence of fishing activities, environmental factors, and species interactions on the abundance and distribution of marine fish species. After graduation, Katherine feels drawn to careers in government agencies or non-governmental organizations because they offer many options for work combining science and management.

Sangsoo Ryu is a doctoral student in Ocean Engineering at Texas A&M University-College Station. He is using computer simulation to predict the nature of ocean waves near coastal areas as an alternative to expensive tank testing. After graduation he would like to teach at the university level or apply his research to industrial problems developing ocean structures. He was a SEASPACE recipient in 2000 and 2001.

Jennifer Trask is working on her Elementary Education credentials at Western Washington University. She was a SEASPACE winner in 1997 when she was working towards her MS degree in Marine Biology at the University of Alaska. Jennifer is committed to marine science education and intends to develop marine science outreach programs and curriculum materials which will create opportunities for discovery that will reach the students of today and tomorrow.

Marie Trone is completing her doctoral degree in Experimental Psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi. She is conducting her research on metamemory capabilities in bottlenose dolphins. Metamemory is the ability to recognize and reflect upon what one remembers. Marie would like to take a position that would allow her to recruit and train students to help her continue her work with these mammals. She was a previous winner in, 1989, 1991, 1999, and 2001.

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