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University of Delaware College of Marine and Earth Studies faculty, staff, students and recent alumni gathered May 9, at the Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes for Honors Day to recognize accomplishments of members of the college in the past year.
College alumna Gina Perovich, acting division director of the National Center for Environmental Research at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C., was guest speaker for the event, which attracted many college members from both Newark and Lewes campuses.
The event began with Dean Nancy Targett honoring student recipients of university and college awards and fellowships.
The day’s first honoree was Sara Handy, who earned her doctoral degree in oceanography from the College of Marine and Earth Studies (CMES) in 2007. She received the E. Sam Fitz Award, which recognizes the student who has displayed the greatest aptitude for professional development in marine studies.
Recipients of the Frances Severance Academic Council Awards, given for the best thesis or dissertation within a program area, were Lisa Waidner, recent graduate of CMES’ doctoral program in marine biosciences; Joana Tavares, master’s graduate in marine policy; and oceanography alumna Sara Handy.
Receiving the University Graduate Fellows Award for academic accomplishments was marine policy doctoral student Haifeng Wang. Geological sciences student Katherine Skalak and oceanography student Rebecca Hays received the University Dissertation Fellows Award. The award is given to doctoral students for academic achievement, the need to devote full-time effort to dissertation writing and the likelihood of completing the dissertation within one academic year.
The Marian R. Okie Fellowship, which is awarded based on academic and research excellence and demonstrated leadership abilities, was given to the following students: Andrew Madison, oceanography master’s student; Emily Maung, oceanography doctoral student; Margaret Miller, marine biosciences master’s student; Adam Pimenta, oceanography master’s student; Karen Rossmassler, marine biosciences doctoral student; and Caitlin Snyder, marine policy doctoral student.
The recipient of the Joanne Currier Daiber Fellowship, which is named in honor of the first female marine scientist hired by the university, was marine biosciences doctoral student Julie Anderson. Anderson also received the award in 2007.
The morning ceremony, held at UD’s Virden Center, also highlighted the awardees of Research Mini-Grants for 2008–09. Winners were Hilary Stevens, geological sciences doctoral student; Kevin Portune, marine biosciences doctoral student; Kathryn Semmens, marine policy master’s student; Mustafa Yucel, oceanography doctoral student; and Felipe Pimenta, physical ocean science and engineering doctoral student. The Mini-Grants are supported by donations in memory of faculty and friends of the college. This year’s grants honor Barbara Prosser, UD alumna; John Castle, Delaware Sea Grant College Program researcher; Mel Carriker, professor emeritus of marine studies; and Rich Garvine, Maxwell P. and Mildred H. Harrington Professor of Marine Studies.
CMES Program Fellowships went to Kathryn Semmens, marine policy master’s student; Stephanie Guida, marine biosciences master’s student; and Andrew Cihonski, physical ocean science and engineering doctoral student.
Several students also were recognized for winning awards and fellowships from local and national organizations.
Two students were awarded DuPont Clear into the Future Graduate Student Fellowships: marine policy doctoral student Kelley Appleman and oceanography master’s student Adam Pimenta. The award supports efforts to increase scientific understanding of the Delaware Estuary.
Recipients of the Dean John A. Knauss Fellowships for students in marine policy were recognized. Doctoral students Ami Kang and Kateryna Wowk will work in Washington, D.C., for one year at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) offices.
Susanne Moskalski, oceanography doctoral student, received a NOAA-NERR Fellowship. Katherine Skalak, geological sciences doctoral student, was awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) GK-12 Fellowship. Rebecca Hays, oceanography doctoral student, won a NASA/Delaware Space Grant Graduate Fellowship.
Receiving the Elizabeth K. Tunnell Fellowship awarded by Beneath the Sea Foundation wasMatthew Aschaffenburg, master’s student in marine biosciences. Tom Moore, a doctoral student in oceanography, received the Delaware Sea Grant Student Award in recognition of research excellence in the Delaware Sea Grant College Program.
Additional student awards and honors include the following:
• Publication Award — Recent marine biosciences doctoral program graduate Lisa Waidner, who now is a postdoctoral researcher at UD, and Chengfeng Wang, doctoral program graduate in marine policy
• The Center for the Inland Bays Award — Damian Brady, marine biosciences doctoral student
• Gerard J. Mangone Center For Marine Policy Award — Caitlin Snyder, marine policy doctoral student
• University of Delaware Ryden Prize — Thomas Street, marine policy doctoral program graduate
• Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award in Geological Sciences — master’s student Joseph Zullo
• First place, Outstanding Student Presentation Honors, the Southern Association of Marine Laboratories, American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Orlando, Fla., 2008, — Dominique Cowart, master’s marine biosciences student
• First Place, Graduate Law Paper, University of Delaware’s 2007 Student Conference on Legal Studies — Meredith Blaydes, marine policy doctoral student
• NSF International Research Experiences for Students Project: Molecular Ecology and Evolution of Marine Photosynthetic Organisms and travel grant to attend the HAB symposium in Woods Hole, Mass., October 2007 — Jennifer Griffith, doctoral student in marine biosciences
• Excellence Award for Geosciences — Livia Montone, senior geological sciences major
• Outstanding Senior Award for Geosciences — Maggie Beird, senior geological sciences major
• Special Merit Award for Geosciences — Philip Morton, senior geological sciences major
• First Prize for Boats under 25 Feet, Lewes Boast-the-Coast Festival Boat Parade, October 2007 — marine biosciences doctoral students Jill Brown, Julie Anderson, Skye Schmidt and Karen Rossmassler, marine biosciences master’s student Stephanie Guida, oceanography doctoral student Emily Maung and Assistant Director of Marine Operations Capt. Art Sundberg.
Faculty recognitions were awarded to the following individuals:
• Bostwick H. Ketchum Medal — Rich Garvine, Maxwell P. and Mildred H. Harrington Professor of Marine Studies
• NSF Early Career Award — Fabrice Veron, assistant professor of physical ocean science and engineering
• Elected as a Fellow to the American Academy for Microbiology — David Kirchman, professor of marine biosciences
• Elected to the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences — Victor Klemas, professor emeritus of oceanography
• Elisabeth-Mann-Borgese Meerespreis Award (“Prize of the Sea”) and 2007 Coastal Zone Foundation Award — Biliana Cicin-Sain, professor of marine policy
• Elected president of the North American Micropaleontological Section of the Society for Sedimentary Geology — Ronald Martin, professor of geological sciences
• Appointed to a six-year term on the Environmental Economics Committee of the U.S. EPA’s Scientific Advisory Board — George Parsons, professor of marine policy
• Distinguished Scholar of Xiamen University and UD representative to the National Universities Space Research Association — Xiao-Hai Yan, Mary A.S. Lighthipe Chair Professor
• Friends of TRIO Award — Joseph Farrell, resource management specialist
University Service Awards were presented to the following individuals:
• Five years — Thomas Hanson, assistant professor of marine biosciences; Brian Kidd, oceanographic technician; Peggy Thomas, senior administrative assistant
• 10 years — Miriam Balgos, research associate in marine policy; Rita Baty, office coordinator; Wendy Carey, coastal processes specialist; Edward Whereat, program coordinator; Douglas White, research associate in oceanography; Liying Yu, research specialist; Yaohong Zhang, research associate
• 15 years — Willett Kempton, associate professor of marine policy
• 20 years — Denise Berilla, business office manager; Margaret Conlon, office supervisor; Joseph Farrell, resource management specialist; Patrick Gaffney, professor of marine biosciences
• 30 years — Marvin Mitchell, assistant port engineer; Arthur Sundberg, assistant director of marine operations; Nioma Thompson, manager
• 35 years — Thomas Church, E. I. du Pont Professor of Marine Studies
CMES recognized current participants in the CMES Docent Program, a corps of volunteer guides organized in 1992 to help inform the public of the college’s research and education activities.
Jim Falk, director of Delaware Sea Grant College Program’s Marine Advisory Service, honored the docents, saying that they “work endless hours to show some of the work we do at the college.” He noted that since its beginning, the program has exposed CMES to more than 17,000 visitors. The following participants were honored: Carol Bason, Gordon Blizard Jr., Barbara Busch, Dorothy Daneggar, William Ebner, Charles Freed, Jerry Klavans, Russell Payne, George Stadler, Rosalind Troupin and Carl Wisler.
Now in its 38th year, CMES is dedicated to advancing the knowledge, use, and conservation of Earth, its oceans, and its other resources.
The college also serves as home to the Delaware Sea Grant College Program, a partnership among federal and state governments, universities, industry, and the public. Delaware Sea Grant focuses on the wise use, conservation and management of marine and coastal resources.
To learn more about the Delaware Sea Grant College Program, visit www.deseagrant.org. For more about UD’s College of Marine and Earth Studies, visit www.ocean.udel.edu.
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