By Chris Patrick, staff writer
With several academic publications about climate change in the Arctic under her belt, a completed thesis on Arctic food security, and international affairs experience, Knauss Fellow Monique Baskin is eager to begin as an ocean acidification specialist in the Arctic Research Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Program Office.
“I’m excited because I get to work with an expert in ocean acidification; I have free range to conduct some projects of my own; I have interagency interaction and the ability to finally see the place I have been reading, writing, and researching about,” says Baskin.
Baskin will work with scientists to describe and assess impacts and risks of ocean acidification in the United States Arctic. She will present results at interagency and international meetings, as well as see the Arctic firsthand via cruise.
Baskin received a bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology from Ohio University in 1999 and earned several master’s degrees: one in exercise physiology from United States Sports Academy in 2004, one in national securities studies from Naval Postgraduate School in 2008, and one in international affairs from George Washington University in 2015. She expects to receive a graduate certificate in environmental health, science, and policy from George Washington University this year.
Baskin and five other Virginia graduate students will begin their yearlong Knauss Fellowships in February.
The Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship program places students with host offices in the legislative or executive branches of government in Washington, DC. Fellows learn about the national policy decisions that affect ocean, coastal, and the Great Lakes resources while getting the opportunity to contribute their knowledge to current issues facing the nation. The National Sea Grant College Program established the program in 1979.
