This year the School of Marine & Environmental Affairs graduated fourteen students with an eclectic mix of research topics ranging from communicating environmental science through art, to oil pollution prevention strategies in the arctic. The graduation ceremony took place on Thursday, June 11th with over 90 family members, friends, faculty, staff and classmates filling Foege Auditorium. A welcome was given by SMEA Director, Terrie Klinger, followed by opening remarks from the College of the Environment Dean, Lisa J. Graumlich, with a laudatory, and very witty, keynote address by Puget Sound Partnership Leadership Council Chair, Martha Kongsgaard. The ceremony concluded with the announcement of the 2015 SMEA awardees and graduates, with a reception following in the Vista Cafe and Terrace.

2015 Graduate Thesis Titles

Liliana Bastian – “A Critical Analysis of Representations of Bajau People in Media and Marine Conservation Discourse” (Chair: Edward Allison)

Ezra Beaver – “Assessing the social impacts of tidal energy in remote and urban communities: A comparative case study of Washington State and Igiugig Alaska” (Chair: Kiki Jenkins)

Trina Blake – “Risk Proportionality, Climate Change and Marine Energy Permitting; An Argument to Change the Balance” (Chair: Marc Miller)

Michael Chang – “Communicating Environmental Science Through Art: History, Scope, and Applications” (Chair: Kiki Jenkins)

Jack Cheney – “Assessing Washington Raw Oyster Consumption Patterns and Trends: The Justification and Blueprint for Data Collection in the Private Restaurant Sector” (Chair: Edward Allison)

Colleen Crotty – “Strangers In The Night: A Critical Analysis of Regulatory Guidelines for Mitigation Measures Pertaining to Seismic Exploration in the Gulf of Mexico” (Chair: Ryan Kelly)

Mikaela Freeman– “Marine Spatial Planning in Washington: A Spatial and Temporal Assessment of Current Uses and Potential Conflicts” (Chair: Ryan Kelly)

Scott Jackson – “A Fresh Perspective for Marine Fisheries” (Chair: Dave Fluharty)

Natalie Lowell– “Evaluating Agency Use of ‘Best Available Science’ Under the Endangered Species Act” (Chair: Ryan Kelly)

Wataru Tanoue – “Japan’s Total Allowable Catch Systems in Fishery Resource Management” (Chair: Dave Fluharty)

Katie Thompson – “Key Characteristics of Successful Fisher Learning Exchanges” (Chair: Kiki Jenkins)

Devon Thorsell – “Evaluating Oil Pollution Prevention Strategies in the Arctic” (Chair: Craig Allen)

Sarah Towne – “Alternatives for the West Coast Groundfish Adaptive Management Program” (Chair: Dave Fluharty)

2015 Non-Thesis Students

Peter Best (Chair: Dave Fluharty)

Donald L. McKernan Prize for Most Outstanding SMEA Thesis

Katie Thompson

Honorable Mentions:

Natalie Lowell

Katherine Peet