Currents is SMEA’s student-run blog dedicated to sharing timely and relevant discussions of pressing environmental issues, particularly in regards to marine and coastal systems and the interactions between humans and nature. Throughout the school year these students write posts about topics they find interesting and relevant in ocean science and policy. For the month of May they decided to try something a little different; they are running a series they’ve titled Simply Science. 

Why did you decide to pursue a Master of Marine Affairs?
I wanted to orient my profession towards applied ocean science and saw a program that was broader than pure oceanography to be a good way to put the science that I enjoy to good work. At this point in my life, I couldn’t reasonably invest the time required for a PhD and I knew I would not be fulfilled by going in a direction that strayed far from ocean science. 

Please join SMEA on Friday, May 11 and Friday, May 18 in the Marine Studies Building (MAR 168) as our graduating students present their thesis and capstone projects. A reception featuring beer, wine, and appetizers will follow the last presentation on each day in the upstairs student lounge. We hope to see you there!

May 11

FRIDAY
Advisor/Committee
Title

10:00 AM
Charlene Vasquez
Nives Dolsak
Sea Level Rise Capstone

10:20 AM
Brandon Ray
Nives Dolsak
Framing Arctic Renewable Energy

10:40 AM
Kaitlin Lebon
Ryan Kelly
Tangled up and blue: evaluating alternatives to reduce whale entanglements in commercial Dungeness crab fishing gear

11:00 AM
Danielle Edelman
Dave Fluharty
Regulatory barriers to native oyster restoration in Washington

11:20 AM
Mackenzie Nelson
Terrie Klinger
If we build it, will they come? 

Alumna Melissa Luna graduated from the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs in 2014 and is now a Social and Environmental Impact Officer at Playa Viva Sustainable Boutique Hotel in Mexico. We had a chance to catch up with Melissa and hear about her job, her time at SMEA, and advice she has for current SMEA students.
Can you give us a brief description of what you do for Playa Viva Sustainable Boutique Hotel? 

SMEA Professor and Associate Director Nives Dolšak and UW Director of the Center for Environmental Politics Aseem Prakash recently wrote an article featured on The Hill titled, “Environmentalists need to reconnect with blue-collar America.” The article discusses communities with economies that in some way depend on fossil fuels, such as coal country. These communities feel that they carry the unfair burden of “rescuing the polar bear from the melting of the Arctic.” Dolšak and Prakash think environmentalists need to reconnect with blue-collar America. 

Why did you decide to pursue a Master of Marine Affairs?
I have always been drawn to the ocean, and so I started my undergraduate education as a Marine Biology major. I switched to Marine Affairs about halfway through, and loved all of the classes I got to take relating to policy. As graduation got closer, I realized there was so much more about the field I wanted to learn about, and began researching Marine Affairs graduate programs! 

Congratulations to SMEA alumna, Natalie Lowell, for being selected as one of the 2018 Husky 100! Each year, the Husky 100 recognizes 100 UW undergraduate and graduate students from Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma in all areas of study who are making the most of their time at the UW.
See Natalie and fellow students honored with the Husky 100 award 

Congratulations to Lily Zhao on being awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) fellowship. Zhao was the awardee for ‘Human Dimensions of Coral Reefs’. The fellowship will allow Zhao to continue her doctorate studies and research on how coral reefs and the coastal communities that depend on them can best recover from severe environmental shocks.
In all, the NSF named 2,000 individuals as this year’s recipients of awards from its Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). 

SMEA Professor Eddie Allison was recently interviewed for an article featured on Oceans Deeply to discuss his research that shows in some developing countries, fish farming is not benefiting nutritionally vulnerable communities. These findings have some researchers and the aquaculture industry pushing back. However, it has also helped to develop a healthy debate. Ben Belton, an assistant professor of international development at Michigan State University, initially had questions regarding Professor Allison’s research, but is now working with him on a paper that Allison “thinks will address some of the contentions and look at the future of aquaculture. 

Alumna Natalie Lowell graduated from the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs in 2015 and is now a PhD student in the School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington. We had a chance to catch up with Natalie recently and hear about what she’s studying, her time at SMEA, and advice she has for current SMEA students.