Category Archives: higher education

Student posters sought for Oregon’s Ocean conference – Deadline Extended!

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Oregon’s Ocean: Catching the Next Wave of Discoveries

FLORENCE – This year’s Heceta Head Coastal Conference, Oct. 29, will feature the fresh faces of ocean research in Oregon. Participants will learn about the cutting edge of marine science in our waters, focusing on new discoveries and future directions, including a student research poster session highlighting the next generation of Oregon’s scientists from colleges and universities throughout our state.

Graduate and undergraduate students who have conducted ocean-related research are invited to submit their projects, and researchers with promising students are encouraged to spread the word.  The poster submission deadline has been extended to September 30. Download the .pdf announcement for details.

Join us as we look ahead to confronting the challenges facing our ocean, how they are being addressed, and how results will affect YOU!  Oregon Sea Grant is co-sponsoring and organizing the conference. Watch for the full program announcement here this summer.

Malouf scholarship deadline announced

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Oregon Sea Grant is accepting applications for the fourth annual Robert E. Malouf Marine Studies Scholarship, open to graduate students enrolled at any college or university in Oregon working toward a degree  in a  field compatible with Oregon Sea Grant’s mandate and areas of interest.

Relevant fields could include (but are not limited to) biological, geological, physical and chemical sciences; marine resource management and policy; marine resource economics; social sciences; engineering; geology; education or public health.

This annual scholarship is intended to support the efforts of students focusing on marine-related   research, education or public engagement. The program is named for Robert Malouf, Oregon Sea Grant director from 1991-2008.

Applications for the 2011-2012 scholarship are due by 5 pm June 17.  The scholarship will provide up to $10,800 dispersed in 12 monthly payments beginning September 1, 2011

Read more information…

Sea Grant Summer Scholars sought science experience

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Summer Scholars visit fish disease labCORVALLIS, Ore. – Asked what he learned this summer, Ian Heller said, “Time and tide wait for no man.” With anyone else, it’d be a tired cliché, but with Heller, a student working with the Environmental Protection Agency, the lesson was personal and he was the one who was tired, waking at 5:30 a.m. most mornings.

Heller and fellow EPA student-worker Phillip Sanchez started crewing early mornings on small boats that pulled trawl nets through the Yaquina and Alsea marshes. The trawls would reveal how the estuaries are used by fish species that are economically important to Oregon.

Heller, a senior at Vassar College in New York, and Sanchez, a recent graduate of University of Florida, are two of the five “Summer Scholars” in a new program directed by Oregon Sea Grant at Oregon State University. The 10-week program gives undergraduates a taste of working in marine science, policy, and management by pairing them with mentors in federal, state and local agencies.

Over the summer, the students conducted research and analyses in the natural and social sciences, education and outreach, and policy. They helped agencies with their existing work and gained an understanding for what it is like to work in the public sector. The students wrote weekly reflections in which they discussed their previous week, challenges they faced, how they overcame them, and their plan for the following week.

According to Julie Risien, program organizer with Sea Grant, “the general idea was to expose students to working in marine science and policy in the public sector – what is it like to work for a government agency? What do agencies do? What is their role in marine science or monitoring, or in setting, implementing, and evaluating marine policies?”

Summer Scholars program offers undergrads marine science experience

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A new Oregon  Sea Grant Summer Scholars program is accepting undergraduate applicants who’d like to get an inside look at marine science and resource management careers by spending the summer working on a marine science project for a state or local agency.

Sea Grant plans to select five or more Summer Scholars, each of whom will spend 10 weeks this summer working with a marine research, outreach, education or public policy agency or institution in Oregon. Potential projects range from collecting and analyzing biological data to developing museum exhibits and assisting on information campaigns. Scholars will each receive a $2,000 stipend to help with living expenses.

The program is open to any undergraduate student who will have completed the equivalent of two years of full time study and is currently enrolled in any U.S. college or university. Students of color, from first nations, non-traditional students, and those from other diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

The application deadline is March 31.

For more information, see: http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/funding/fellowships/undergrad_fellows.html , or contact Eric.Dickey@oregonstate.edu

Sea Grant director to head new Marine Council

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Dr. Stephen Brandt

Dr. Stephen Brandt

Dr. Stephen Brandt, director of Oregon Sea Grant, will serve as the first chair of Oregon State University’s new Marine Council, intended to bring together OSU’s ocean and coastal programs to address key marine science issues.

University Provost Sabah Randhawa formally announced the new council’s formation today. It will include representation from each of the 10 OSU colleges, departments and institutes working in ocean and coastal science, along with Vice President for Research and the Vice Provost for Outreach and Engagement.

The goal, according to Randhawa, is to provide an integrated, coordinated and collaborative approach to addressing marine science issues and opportunities.

With eight of its 11 academic colleges and multiple centers, institutes and programs engaged in marine science, and more than 37 percent of the institution’s research dollars going toward ocean-related issues and programs, OSU  aspires to being  recognized as a national and world leader in advancing the  fundamental understanding of ocean processes and their role in earth systems, as well as the role the oceans play in the environment, the economy and human society.

A full description of the new council and its goals is available here in .pdf format.

Brandt, director of Oregon Sea Grant since early last year, came to OSU from Michigan, where he had directed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Research Lab since 1997.

Deadline approaches for teacher workshop registration

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Sea Grant, NOAA and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry join forces to present part two of the  “Learning Ocean Science through Ocean Exploration Curriculum”  professional development series for grade 6-12 teachers on April 4 at OMSI in Portland.

A followup to the an introductory workshop based on the NOAA-developed Ocean Exploration Program curriculum, the workshop will focus on light in the deep sea; adaptations, including bioluminescence; hydrothermal vents and cold seeps; and chemosynthetic tubeworms.

Pre-registration is required by March 20. For more information, download the workshop flyer (.pdf format) and registration form from Oregon Sea Grant’s marine education program at the Hatfield Marine Science Center.

Undegraduate research fellowships available

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Oregon Sea Grant plans to support as many as four undergraduate students this year in conducting research related to ocean or coastal science, resources or public affairs, starting winter term of the 2007-2008 academic year.

Each fellowship will provide a resident tuition waiver (or partial tuition support for non-Oregon residents), a per-term stipend,  and modest travel and supply expenses, totalling a maximum of $9,000 per student for the academic year.   Fellows will be expected to work 10 hours/week on their research projects during winter and spring terms and 20 hours/week during the summer.  The deadline for applications is Oct 31, 2007.

More information is available here.

Grad student sought for legislative internship

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Oregon Sea Grant is looking for a graduate student to assist the Oregon Coastal Caucus in enhancing legislative knowledge and planning related to the Oregon coast and its communities.

Candidates for this position should possess a strong interest in coastal and marine public policy, effective communication skills, the ability to be flexible, and a desire to learn about the Oregon legislative process. The intern will be expected to be objective on issues, maintain a non-partisan role, and be respectful of the legislators’ varied opinions.

This internship is currently available from Sept. 24 – Dec. 21, 2007. There is a high likelihood that the internship will be extended through the 2008 Special Session and beyond, contingent upon funding.

Read more and learn how to apply.

The application deadline is Sept. 26, 2007