Why did you decide to become a professor?
I began applying for faculty positions after a phase of my postdoc that involved a lot of solitary time writing R code. I realized that as much as I enjoyed research, my sense of purpose was in sharing a love of discovery and learning with others. Doing research with my students is among the greatest joys of my job. 

Recent SMEA graduates Clayton McKean and Caroline Potter, along with SMEA Associate Professor Emeritus David Fluharty, SMEA Affiliate faculty member Amber Himes-Cornell, and accompanying authors recently published an article in Frontiers in Marine Science titled “Reaching Global Marine Biodiversity Conservation Goals With Area-Based Fisheries Management: A Typology-Based Evaluation“.
Those who are tracking the issues surrounding Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as part of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Convention on Biodiversity may be aware that Other Effective Conservation Measures (OECM) are essential to meeting the marine targets. 

SMEA Alum Bobbak Talebi is currently a senior coastal planner for the Washington State Department of Ecology. He and his wife Bridget Talebi are two of five UW alumni recently profiled for following their passion to make our planet’s environment healthier, more just and more resilient. As stated in Bobbak’s profile “With a love of the outdoors and a natural inclination toward public service, Talebi was drawn to environmental policy.”
Bobbak’s current role includes helping protect more than 3,000 miles of shoreline through the State Coastal Zone Management Program. 

Adopting new technologies requires building familiarity and trust, and this is where SMEA Professor Ryan Kelly and his research group, the eDNA Collaborative comes in. This new effort at the University of Washington aims to accelerate Environmental DNA (eDNA) research by supporting existing projects and building a network of practitioners to advance the nascent field. Professor Kelly likens the young field of eDNA research to how various new technologies develop and take off. 

Congratulations to SMEA student Kristin Hayman on being awarded a Population Health Initiative Tier 1 Pilot Research Grant Award. The funds will go towards Kristin’s work with public health practitioners and natural resource managers to systematically identify locations across the Puget Sound region where protection and restoration of urban green space have the greatest potential to enhance human health, abate health disparities, and further environmental resilience. 

On Thursday, June 9, 2022 the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs held its graduation ceremony.
A welcome was given by SMEA Director, Nives Dolsak, followed by opening remarks from the College of the Environment Dean, Maya Tolstoy, and special keynote speaker David Mendoza, Director of Advocacy and Engagement for the Washington chapter of Nature Conservancy, joined as well. Graduating student Greg Papp was nominated as the class of 2022 student speaker. 

The School of Marine & Environmental Affairs will hold its next faculty meeting on Thursday, June 2, 12:00pm. Please see below for details on how to join;
In person @ Ocean Sciences Building, Room 203 or
Zoom Online Meeting
https://washington.zoom.us/j/94705406674
Phone In
1-206-337-9723
Meeting ID: 947 0540 6674
A copy of the meeting agenda can be found here. Please contact Jackie Chapman (jachap@uw.edu) with any questions or for more information. 

Why did you decide to pursue a Master of Marine Affairs?
When applying to graduate school, I was interested in studying climate change from a social science perspective. This is something that I started researching during my undergraduate studies and I was interested in finding a graduate program that would allow me to continue that research.
Describe your experience in applying to and selecting a graduate program. 

Grace Morris ’22 has been using her time as an MMA student in the School of Marine and Environmental Sciences to explore environmental justice for underserved communities in floodplain areas. At SMEA, she’s been a student in Dr. Cleo Wölfle-Hazard’s Freshwater Ecologies lab.  Her work alongside a team of other University of Washington students won 1st place and a $1000 scholarship at the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) 12th Annual Collegiate Student Paper Competition in Orlando, Florida on Thursday, May 19th! 

School of Marine and Environmental Affairs student Catalina Burch ’23 was awarded a competitive Graduate Student Research Award from the North Pacific Research Board (NPRB). “To encourage students to pursue scientific and scholarly research addressing ecosystem and fisheries management issues”, is what NPRB aims to accomplish with their graduate student funding. Since 2008, NPRB has funded 68 students through the program.