Virginia Marine Resource Bulletin
Volume 44, Number 1, Winter 2012
Throughout the Winter 2012 Bulletin issue, we’re featuring the work of Virginia Sea Grant (VASG) fellows and interns. Here are a few more ways VASG is developing the workforce of marine and coastal experts.
Research Fellowships
VASG research projects are often used to support graduate students working with funded investigators. The 2011 research funding included $192,000 for graduate research fellows working on five projects. Ryan Schloesser (pictured on the cover) was one of those fellows. His research with VIMS associate professor Mary Fabrizio involves measuring the lipid content of young striped bass and summer flounder to help improve the methods fisheries managers use to predict future fish populations.
VASG also fields applications for national fellowships in population dynamics and marine resource economics sponsored by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and in coastal management sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Virginia currently has three Population Dynamics Fellows: Mark Henderson, Patrick Lynch, and Matthew Smith, all of VIMS.
In 2010, VASG piloted a fellowship in collaborative fisheries research that supported students conducting research with the fishing industry and NMFS. In 2012, through an expanded partnership with the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center, VASG will be continuing to fund two-year fellowships in bycatch reduction research.
For 2012, VASG has also initiated a new Graduate Research Fellowship program that will provide two years of stipend, tuition, and research support for up to four students. Each Virginia Sea Grant Graduate Research Fellow will work with an outreach or end-user mentor to ensure that their research results are used by stakeholders. Fellows will also be given professional development opportunities in science communication, the science-to-management process, and the adoption of innovation.
Internships
VASG offers a variety of internship opportunities for students to work in its offices at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. This issue of the Bulletin features the work of photography interns Kim Warner and Carly Rose and communications intern Kate Schimel. In addition to those opportunities, VASG offers regular internship opportunities for law students at the College of William & Mary and summer policy internships for graduate students from institutions nationwide.
Fall law interns Mary-Carson Saunders and Alex Horning both gained valuable real-world experience by applying their legal education to answering environmental policy questions. Saunders analyzed the impact of the new Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) regulations on local governments, while Horning compared climate adaptation efforts in Virginia and Maryland.
Knauss Marine Policy Fellowships
For the second year in a row, Virginia students have earned five of the coveted Knauss Marine Policy Fellowships, and no other state secured more of the fellowships. Read more here about our 2012 Knauss Fellows.
Course Projects
VASG is increasingly seeking out new ways to get undergraduate and graduate courses at partner institutions involved in applying what they learn in class to addressing real-world coastal and marine issues. The work of University of Virginia (UVA) students and faculty on adaptation to sea level rise in Virginia Beach described in this issue is just one example.
VIMS graduate students now have the opportunity to complete a concentration in marine policy, and part of that concentration involves working with VASG on projects stemming from our visiting scholar seminar series. This spring, assistant professor Michael Luchs’s undergraduate marketing class at the College of William & Mary (WM) will be working with a team of graduate students, faculty, and experts to help assess the market for a community supported fishery program among WM and VIMS faculty, staff, and students.
“Through VASG’s partnerships with academic institutions, extension programs, industry, regulatory agencies, and nonprofits, we are leveraging all elements of our network to provide students with practical experience and opportunities to solve pressing coastal and marine resource problems with state-of-the-art science.,” says VASG director Troy Hartley.
For more information about VASG students and opportunities, visit our fellowships and internships page, or contact Susan Park (spark@vims.edu).
