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Career Development Activities for Undergraduate, Graduate, and Recently Graduated Students in Coastal Ocean Science, Management, and Policy (CAREER)

Issue

Scientists signaling to each other during a dive researching lionfish

In the U.S. there is a growing support to boost earth science education. Recent policy recommendations from the U.S. National Research Council and the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy stress the importance of educating students on the basics of Earth science. This renewed emphasis on increasing access to and understanding Earth science is complemented by NOAA’s dedication to add significantly to the number of students that choose education and careers supportive of NOAA’s mission, with particular focus on underrepresented groups. There is also the NOAA concern about building future generations of scientists. While science is becoming increasingly complex, nearly 60 percent of NOAA’s scientific workforce is within 10 years of retirement eligibility. Where will NOAA’s future scientist’s come from?

To address these issues, the Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (CSCOR) proudly supports a educational and career development program (CAREER) designed to facilitate and/or enhance the development of qualified professionals in the fields of coastal ocean science, management and policy.

Approach

The CSCOR CAREER Program is designed to facilitate and/or enhance the development of qualified professionals in the fields of coastal ocean science, management, and policy. CSCOR works in partnership with the NOAA Office of Education and NOAA Education Council in regards to educational and career building activities in earth science. These efforts help support NOAA goals and objectives to increase environmental literacy outreach and education, a cross-cutting priority with NOAA. CSCOR strongly encourages projects involving Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), institutions collaborating with MSIs, or that serve minority students

Examples of such activities include, but are not limited to establishing an invited speaker series; mini-courses, symposia, workshops, visiting or resident scholars or special sessions at national meetings (e.g., sessions on career options in research, management agencies, consulting, environmental education, non-governmental organizations, and so forth.); funding to support student attendance, including minority and under-represented students, at appropriate national meetings or workshops; establishing networking or instructional web sites; and establishing mentoring programs and/or internships with research institutes, management offices, non-governmental agencies.

Management and Policy Implications

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet the Nation’s economic, social, and environmental needs. CSCOR supports NOAA’s science mission through high quality research programs designed to address critical management issues in the Nation's estuaries, coastal waters, and the Great Lakes. CSCOR supports NOAA’s education and outreach activities by recognizing the need to foster the development of qualified professionals in the fields of coastal ocean science, management, and policy. It is the intent of the Career Program to augment NOAA’s existing programs in research and education and to increase the participation of minorities and under-represented groups. These efforts help support NOAA goals and objectives to increase environmental literacy outreach and education, a cross-cutting priority with NOAA.

Accomplishments

The Career program is currently funding three projects:

  1. Integrated Training in Coastal Science and Management – This project at the Marine Biological Laboratory (Woods Hole, Mass.) funds 3 students in a 4 month integrated training in coastal science and management program. The goal of the program is to provide a broad-based experience that will encourage interdisciplinary thinking and emphasize the social and political aspects of coastal management. Unlike most training opportunities that are strictly science-based, this program incorporates interdisciplinary research and hands-on experience with management agencies to emphasize the ways in which scientists can go beyond research to influence local and national environmental policy. Interns work with scientists from the Marine Biological Laboratory to study the impacts of additional nutrients on salt marshes in the ongoing Trophic cascades and Interacting control processes in a Detritus-based aquatic Ecosystem (TIDE) project, while also assisting the local Conservation Commission to evaluate requests for development permits that have the potential to impact nutrient loading. Similarly, interns evaluate the effects of nutrient loading on fish habitat at a regional National Wildlife Refuge and develop related outreach and education materials.
  2. Harmful Algae Research Program: A Coastal Development Initiative for Undergraduates – This project at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) funds 2 students per semester to focus on harmful algal blooms which have become an increasing threat to the coastal marine environment. A harmful algae research program, developed and implemented at WHOI, includes a mentor-based research internship for undergraduate students coupled with a career symposium to showcase the work of undergraduate interns and highlight career opportunities in the coastal ocean sciences. Selected students conduct a research project that is focused on ongoing harmful algae bloom research in the coastal ocean. They are required to give presentation of their experiences and also write a research paper on their work and present their work at a career symposium. Students are recruited through an existing internship collaboration with Roger Williams University (Bristol, RI). There is a special commitment to increasing research opportunities for under represented students including women and ethnic minorities.
  3. Dissertations Initiative for the Advancement of Limnology and Oceanography (DIALOG) – DIALOG is an interdisciplinary, international program for recent Ph.D. recipients across the aquatic sciences supported by the NOAA Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (CSCOR), NOAA Sea Grant and four other Federal agencies. DIALOG includes:
    1. a Dissertation Registry were abstracts are posted online in a searchable format to provide a concise overview of the field and highlight individual accomplishments;
    2. Electronic Communication through the weekly DIALOG News provides a clearinghouse for job announcements and other information of interest to recent PhD's; and
    3. a Symposium enabling graduates to present their research in an interdisciplinary forum, learn about agency programs, discuss emerging research, education and societal issues, and forge lasting collegial bonds with their peers. Starting in 2004, symposia are held on an annual cycle instead of the previous biennial schedule. DIALOG is sponsored by the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) and co-sponsored by: American Geophysical Union (AGU), American Fisheries Society (AFS), Ecological Society of America (ESA), Estuarine Research Federation (ERF), International Society of Limnology (SIL), North American Benthological Society (NABS), North American Lake Management Society (NALMS), Phycological Society of America (PSA), The Oceanography Society (TOS), Society of Canadian Limnologists (SCL) and Western Society of Naturalists (WSN). DIALOG is supported through grants from NOAA CSCOR, NOAA Sea Grant, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. National Science Foundation U.S. Office of Naval Research and U.S. Department of Energy. Program information, abstract submission form, Dissertation Registry and symposium application instructions are available at http://aslo.org/phd.html .

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