Since September 2007, Melissa has been working as a Biologist for the Miami-Dade Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM). In the Restoration and Enhancement Section of DERM she supervises, coordinates and takes part in offshore monitoring and artificial reef projects in Miami-Dade County.
After the field work is finished, Melissa is responsible for data analysis and report writing as well as keeping track of vessel maintenance. She assisted in the implementation of the Miami-Dade Mooring Buoy Program and continues to assist in program management. She has presented project results at the 2010 Florida Artificial Reef Summit and represents the county in various working groups and project teams with local, state and federal agencies.
Nicole has worked for the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Jacksonville, FL for over six years. Her main responsibilities include managing the Manatee Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Release Program; addressing various aspects of endangered species recovery for manatees and sea turtles; and reviewing research permits. Nicole has also been collaborating with National Geographic's Crittercam project to conduct her own research study on manatees.
Since graduating from the MS program, I have begun working as the Teen Coordinator at the Royal Air Force (RAF) Alconbury Teen Centre in Cambridgeshire, England. I work closely with the Boys and Girls club of America and 4H to give teens meaningful experiences and prepare them for the real world that awaits them after college.
I cannot wait to integrate my environmental experience into the equation. One of the biggest topics of discussion is comparing England to the United States of America, especially environmentally. Being in a military setting, we get views from all over. Many of 'my kids' have been to more countries in their short lives than I could dream of.
I have been very happy since my graduation. I am currently teaching high school students at a Montessori school (one of the few schools of this kind in the country). One of the courses I teach is Environmental Science, and I am enjoying it so much! My students recently went to a local Arboretum to experience water quality monitoring, and they have completely taken over the recycling program for the entire school (K-12th grade).
Since graduating last June (2004), I have been working in a school teaching science. Last year 5th and 6th Science and this year 4th and 5th Science.
I am integrating my studies in the Environmental Education program into the curriculum. I hope that my passion for conservation will be contagious!
After earning his PhD from the NSUOC in February 2007, Chapman worked as a postdoctoral scientist at the Rosenstiel School of Marine an Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, where he was in charge of several genetic and field research projects on sharks and sawfish for the Pew Institute for Ocean Science. Chapman is conducting projects in Belize, Bimini (Bahamas), Jupiter (Florida) and New Zealand, with a focus on looking at the connections that sharks maintain with specific places, including their birthplace.
His Research goals are to ensure that information on space utilization is incorporated into shark stock assessments and to determine how marine protected areas can be integrated into shark conservation.
Chapman has recently accepted a position as Assistant Professor at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Stony Brook University on Long Island, New York, where he will be setting up a molecular marine ecology laboratory and be a part of the new Institute for Ocean Conservation Science.
I am currently working as a seasonal naturalist for the Hamilton County Park District as well as substitute teaching. I love every minute of it, and feel that the classes required for the MS in Environmental Education definitely improved the quality of my programming.
Following his graduation from NSUOC Yasushi was hired as an assistant professor at the Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, in Sapporo, Japan. His current research interests are ocean circulation and interaction between sea ice and ocean in the seasonal sea-ice zone such as the Southern Ocean, where sea ice exists seasonally.
In 2003 and 2005, he participated in the Australian Antarctic Research Expedition's Southern Ocean cruises to carry out a mooring experiment of a deep western boundary current southeast of the Kerguelen Plateau, which is the largest plateau in the ocean, located in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean.
Fukamachi returned to the Southern Ocean last February to deploy moorings including ice profiling sonars in a coastal polynya (thin ice zone with high ice production) near the Amery Ice Shelf. They are designed to reveal ice-production rate and formation processes of the Antarctic Bottom Water in this region.
Sarah's job description is wildlife biologist for the Seminole Tribe of Florida. She is based out of the field office in Big Cypress Reservation. Currently, the tribe is participating in part of the Critical Everglades Restoration Project. Part of her job is to monitor the endangered and threatened species on the reservation during the project. Sarah is also the tribal representative for the Panther Recovery Team, which led to her helping write the recovery plan for the Florida panther.
I have been working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) since 1992. I currently work as a biologist serving as the Environmental Leader on several interdisciplinary water resource study teams. In particular, I work on the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) and several coastal projects such as beach restoration and harbor expansion, in Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Florida. I do the environmental coordination and prepare Environmental Impact Assessments during a study's planning process.
The online CZM program is the ideal method of delivery for the working professional. The quality of classes offered online were way above my expectations. I wanted to be able to pursue a degree and continue working my full time job with the Corps. The program has allowed me to gain additional technical expertise in the marine science field and to establish a network of contacts within the research community. The CZM degree strengthened my understanding of the problems and conflicts associated with the coastal zone, and provided me with the technical expertise necessary to make better decisions and more effectively manage the coastal environment.
While at NSU, Heather worked for the National Coral Reef Insitute on Acropora cervicornis studies. At that time, A. cervicornis was being placed on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Candidate List and has since been listed as threatened. Her interest in the ESA listing process prompted her to apply to law school to become an environmental attorney, so she entered the University of Florida Levin College of Law (UF Law) in 2004.
At UF Law, she was active in the environmental and land use law program and was able to work as a summer associate for various environmental law practices which included: Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (Eugene, OR) and the Solicitor's Office at the U.S. Department of the Interior, Division of Land and Water (Washington, D.C.). She also participated in UF Law's environmental law clinic in Gainesville as well as an environmental law clinic at the University of Costa Rica (San Jose, Costa Rica). After graduating from UF Law in 2007, she was awarded a John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship and moved to the Washington, D.C. area. During her fellowship, she worked for the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) Highly Migratory Species Management Division and was able to travel to many states and U.S. territories to conduct public hearings for new shark management measures. She has now come full circle with her desire to work with the ESA. She is currently a NMFS employee in the Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources. Her interests continue to be Endangered Species and Marine Protected Area issues, especially in the international realm.
John recently led an expedition aboard the Greenpeace ship Esperanza, using submarines and an ROV in the Bering Sea to explore the largest underwater canyon in the world for the first time.
Their findings included visible damage from trawl fishing in deep remote areas, species that are probably new to science, and corals and sponges not known to live in the area. You can see blogs, images, and other interesting information on their Web site.
Since graduating this summer from the MS in Environmental Education program, I have been teaching 8th grade Planetary Science and Earth Science in the Hudson Valley of New York State. I have been also coaching football and lacrosse, as well as pursuing my permanent teaching certification here in New York State.
My interests in Environmental Education have fueled some ideas and visions, which have provoked thoughts of a minor career change .. but the dollars are too good here at this job. I truly enjoyed the program and would like to be a mentor to anyone that needs advice or guidance.
I am still here working at NSU, on my second distance masters now, in Coastal Zone Management through the Oceanographic Center. I am trying to get started teaching at community college level; I've applied to both the Broward Community College and Palm Beach Community College (Florida). I am sure the environmental education degree will assist with that!! I've also now spent the last two summers working with the Broward County Sea Turtle Conservation Program doing field work on the beach and lots of public outreach that goes along with it.
Rosaline is the president of A.D. Marble and Company, which provides a wide variety of natural and cultural resource services. Their goal is to consistently guide projects through the environmental process effectively, ensuring that the needs of the project are weighed appropriately against current environmental constraints.
In addition to being involved with the Society of Women Environmental Professionals, she is a member of the Society of Military Engineers, the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Professionals, the Associated Pennsylvania Constructors, and American Consulting Engineers Council, and the National Association of Female Executives.
After graduating from the NSUOC in 2003, Ryan worked for NCRI until 2004 and then went on to The Ohio State University to work towards earning a Ph.D. While at OSU, his dissertation research has focused on the transfer of carbon from land to the coastal ocean and how corals growing near river mouths may preserve a record of that important component of the global carbon cycle in their skeletons over time.
He has also been involved in conducting field and tank experiments for a project examining carbon utilization in bleached and recovered corals in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii (Oahu).
Ryan has presented portions of his dissertation research at the 2006 and 2008 Ocean Sciences Meetings (Honolulu and Orlando, respectively) and the 2007 ASLO Aquatic Sciences Meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He also presented his work at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium in Ft. Lauderdale in July 2008.
Ryan is scheduled to defend his dissertation research in October 2008 and will then transition into the next phase of his career as a post-doctoral fellow with the U.S. Geological Survey. He was recently awarded and accepted a Mendenhall Post-doctoral Fellowship with the USGS, and will be examining questions about ocean acidification and the future of coral reefs at the Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies in St. Petersburg (FL) by the end of 2008.
To learn more about what Ryan has been doing, visit www.earthsciences.osu.edu/~moyer.120.
After finishing at the OC, Karita started her Ph.D. at the Universite de Quebec in Quebec City. She was lucky enough to find an interesting research topic that requires her to perform research in the Artic. Her research looks at "thaw ponds", which occurs when the permafrost (frozen soil) melts. These thaw ponds, along with the methane hydrates from the ocean floor are the two main hypothesized sources of atmospheric methane for both the past (end of last glacial maximum) and the future.
Karita is currently researching greenhouse gas emissions from these ponds. She has actually seen methane bubbles coming up from the thaw ponds. She says, "One very important factor to consider in this system is that the permafrost (frozen soil) stores a huge supply of ‘old’ carbon that was trapped when it was formed as far back as 20,000 yrs ago. Therefore with the melting of the permafrost due to warmer temperatures, it is releasing a huge additional supply of carbon that could be utilized to fuel an increase of GHG production."
While she thought that she would never been doing a research project like this, it has given her the wonderful experience of camping in the Arctic (where two warm sleeping bags are a must!).
After leaving the OC and the Broward County Sea Turtle Project, Stefanie worked at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC) located on Jekyll Island, GA, until June 2010 as the Marine Field Programs Coordinator. She managed the Nest Monitoring and Saturation Tagging Program on Jekyll Island to assess the nesting sea turtle population, in addition to a number of other associated research projects such as DNA analysis, Fire Ants, Human Impact, nutrition and turtle locomotion. She also collaborated with Tufts University to participate in their SEANET (Seabird Ecological Assessment Network) Program, managed the GSTC's Satellite Tagging and Telemetry Program, Adopt-a-Sea Turtle Program, Membership Program, GSTC website, exhibit development and maintenance, and promotional requests and donations.
In June 2010, Stefanie returned to Florida as the Manager of The Gumbo Limbo Environmental Educational Complex and Nature Center (GLNC) in Boca Raton, FL. The GLNC operates under a partnership of five entities: City of Boca Raton, the Boca Raton Greater Beach and Park District, FAU, Palm Beach County School Board and Friends of Gumbo Limbo. She has been busy acclimating to her new role, the facility and City’s inner workings, and the somewhat familiar location of Boca Raton. She looks forward to and is excited about a variety of big upcoming projects that will update GLNC and bring new exhibits to the facility.
As the time has passed since graduating from the program, I've come to realize that we are on the cutting edge of a new frontier of societal change which our connection to the natural realm plays a vital role. This new frontier is both exciting and challenging. Nova's program set me on a path that is immensely interesting and challenging.
The 'Environment and Society' course in particular had an immense impact on my life that has been the back drop of what I've been doing since I left the program. After finishing the MS in EE program I went to Tibet, China and Nepal, the repercussions of which have given me a more global viewpoint of environmental and societal needs. I have now spent my first full six months living an international lifestyle by living six months in British Columbia and have just returned for the winter to Florida. I walk the talk in that my house is off the grid and was completely built to support numerous local people, using eco-friendly products, that will continue to have a light footprint on the planet. After fourteen months of leaving the program at Nova and beginning to network, reflect, read and experience many new things, I've finally landed my first contractual job to work with a company in British Columbia to create an eco-tourism Zodiac boat trip in the Desolation Sound Maritime Park. I am really excited about the project, the probable future collaborations with this company and the liaisons that are being formed. Really good experience as I've trodden so many new avenues in the recreation of myself!
After leaving the OC, Jose worked in several environmental consulting firms implementing many of the lessons learned and skills he learned graduate student. Since 2001, Jose has worked emergency management for oil industry companies around the world.
Currently residing California, his current position is to ensure that effective emergency response, crisis management, oil spill prevention, and business continuity processes, plans and resources are in place to protect the people, the environment and the business operations.
Jose says, "I am looking forward to see NSUOC keep growing and improving its quality, so in 20 – 25 years from now my two daughters get the same good fortune I had of attending graduate school there."
After graduating from the OC, James went on to get a Ph.D. from the University of New Hampshire. James is now an assistant professor at the University of New England and the resident ichthyologist and area shark specialist.
Recent research interests include the physiological responses to stress and how this influences by-catch mortality and aquaculture practices in teleosts.
Leah works for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' Fishing in the Neighborhood (FiN) program. This program promotes kids fishing and helps bring fishing to urban areas of central Minnesota.
Every year, they stock small fishing ponds with fish and then do aquatic education events with kids and take them fishing. They teach them about aquatic habitat, native Minnesota fish species, aquatic plants, aquatic insects, water safety, and ice safety, among other things. Leah says, "It's a great job, very rewarding, and we're expanding so much that there's too much work! We need more people on our team to keep the kids interested in the environmental and natural resources!" Find out more about what Leah is doing at www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/fin/.
The Mission of the Oceanographic Center is to carry out innovative, basic and applied research and to provide high-quality graduate and undergraduate education in a broad range of marine science and related disciplines.
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