Why did you decide to pursue a Master of Marine Affairs?
I love the interdisciplinary aspect of the program. I can tell how much I have learned when reading journal and news articles, even though I’m only halfway through. We will be well-equipped for whatever career we choose to pursue.
Why did you decide to come to UW’s SMEA for graduate school? 

This week is National Postdoc Appreciation Week and at SMEA we are fortunate to have 3 awesome postdocs; Nathan Bennett, Stacia Dreyer, and Jimmy O’Donnell.
Whether they’re conducting research, publishing papers or mentoring students, our postdocs contribute so much to the success of SMEA! See the great things our postdocs are involved in: PostDoc News
Thank you Nathan, Stacia and Jimmy for all you do! 

SMEA Professor Nives Dolšak, along with UW Professor Aseem Prakash, and SMEA alum Maggie Allen wrote a piece recently featured in The Washington Post’s Monkey Cage blog about the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). The posting discusses how the the federal government’s decision to  temporarily block construction of the DAPL, the pipeline that was supposed to carry 570,000 barrels of crude oil per day from the Dakotas to Illinois, is the result of a new kind of environmental activism that treats energy pipelines as a chokepoint for activities that contribute to global warming, and builds alliances with other groups to stop them. 

Congratulations to SMEA Assistant Professor Ryan Kelly, the lead author of the recently published paper “Genetic signatures of ecological diversity along an urbanization gradient.” Kelly and his co-authors, which include SMEA Post-doc Jimmy O’Donnell and SMEA Alum Natalie Lowell, used environmental DNA — or eDNA, and found that urban Puget Sound shorelines support a denser array of animals than in remote areas. 

How did you decide to become a professor?
In my freshman year of college I was astonished to find out how little I knew about the world. For me college was this sudden and unanticipated exposure to an enormous stock of knowledge and perspectives that I didn’t know existed and I wanted to learn everything I could. I thought the best job in the world would be one where you were constantly learning, being challenged, and pushing knowledge forward. 

Written by: Jessica Hernandez
I had the honor to serve as a crew leader for the Coast Salish Mini University this summer ’16 alongside my younger brother for the Lummi Nation. Through grants from the San Juan Island National Parks and other partnerships, 12 Lummi youth were given the opportunity to return to their ancestral lands and serve as the environmental stewards of their native lands.  

Why did you decide to pursue a Master of Marine Affairs?
I came to SMEA with years of research in hard sciences, particularly in aquatic ecology, fisheries, and biological oceanography. Over the years, I realized that to truly understand the feasibility of scientific decisions, an understanding of how policy realm is structured is critical. As a student in SMEA, I hope to effectively merge my existing scientific knowledge & new understanding of policy process to make reasonable decisions (whether in policy or scientific realm) in future career opportunities. 

Written by: Haley Kennard
Aloha from Hawai’i! This summer, I somehow talked my way into working at the NOAA Office of the Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Monument (PMNM) in Hawai’i as a Policy and Evaluation Intern. Growing up on O’ahu I’ve always felt connected to the ocean and its creatures, and it was amazing to be back in my island home. PMNM was recently expanded by President Obama and is now the largest protected area (terrestrial or marine) on the planet – nearly twice the size of Texas! 

Written by: David Rivera
One of my primary job duties within the NOAA Engineering Development Division is to provide operational and technical field support to various research groups within the Pacific Marine Environmental Lab here in Seattle (PMEL). This season I participated on two major research cruises with the Ocean Climate Station research group to service two deep water mooring systems- Ocean Station PAPA and the Kuroshio Extension Observatory (KEO). 

Written by: Carrie Schmaus
In June, I was fortunate to attend a week-long colloquium in Bozeman, Montana, entitled “Property Rights, Markets, and Freedom” that was held by the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC). During this colloquium, I met students from across the county to discuss numerous topics, ranging from the origin of human rights to the merits and dangers of privatizing federal lands.