The Coastal and Marine Science Institute is pleased to announce the 2024 recipient of the Dennis Salisbury & Patricia K. Salisbury Graduate Award: Zeke Spooner, a PhD student advised by Dr. Sascha Nicklisch and Dr. Christina Pasparakis. Zeke will address microplastic pollution through research to determine the extent to which microplastics have invaded benthic ecosystems across California (CA) and to quantify the toxic chemicals that microplastics carry with them into benthic organisms.
The Coastal and Marine Science Institute is pleased to announce the 2024 recipient of the Dr. Susan Lynn Williams Memorial Graduate Award: Liyu Mekonnen, a PhD student advised by Dr. Alyssa Griffin. Liyu will address carbon storage in the seagrass meadows of Tomales Bay, specifically quantifying seagrass meadows’ contributions to carbon sequestration through alkalinity production.
The UC Davis College of Biological Sciences champions Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) through the Graduate Student DEIJ Leader Fellowship program. Now in its second year, the program empowers enterprising graduate students committed to enhancing DEIJ within the CBS community by supporting projects aimed at fostering a more inclusive academic environment.
Among this year’s distinguished recipients of the DEIJ Leader Fellowship are CMSI affiliates Tracie Hayes and Darien Satterfield.
Graduate Studies recently announced the postdoctoral scholars who have been awarded a 2024 Postdoctoral Excellence Award, including CMSI affiliate Garfield Kwan.
Environmental toxicologist Christina Pasparakis, who is an assistant professor based at Bodega Marine Laboratory, is the winner of the 2024 UC Davis Award for Innovation and Creative Vision.
The prize is funded by Susie and alum Riley Bechtel and supports outstanding non-tenured early career faculty. It comes with a $40,000 research award that Pasparakis plans to use to launch a long-term community-based microplastic monitoring program in the Bodega Marine Reserve.
Congratulations to Professor Eric Sanford, a professor in the Department of Evolution and Ecology in the College of Biological Sciences at UC Davis, who was recently chosen by the Western Society of Naturalists as their Naturalist of the Year.
Earth and Planetary Sciences Professor Tessa Hill is the recipient of the 2023 Rachel Carson Lecture, the American Geophysical Union, or AGU, announced this month. The honor is bestowed upon individuals for meritorious work or service toward the advancement and promotion of discovery and solution science.
Congratulations to Mandy Rousseau, advisor for the Marine and Coastal Science major, who was selected from a very competitive field for a 2023 NACADA Global Outstanding Advising award.
From the award notification: "Established in 1983, the NACADA Global Awards Program for Academic Advising honors individuals and institutions making significant impact on academic advising. NACADA is a representative and advocate of academic advising and those providing that service to higher education.”
