Four Ph.D.-level graduate students have been named to receive fellowships to conduct their thesis research in population dynamics and marine resources economics under a new program started this year by NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Sea Grant College Program.

We wanted to encourage students to pursue careers in these two fields, which are critical if we are to manage our marine resources responsibly," said Ronald Baird, director of the National Sea Grant College Program.

As a former Sea Grant Fellow myself, I'm glad to see these new scientists entering a field that is always challenging," said Penny Dalton, NOAA Fisheries director. "Many of our Sea Grant fellows elect to stay with the agency, providing us with the new techniques and skills they've earned. And they learn from our scientists about the strong role that scientific research plays in effective marine fisheries management."

Dana Hanselman of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska, and Christopher Grogan of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass., were awarded the fellowships in population dynamics -- factors and characteristics of fish populations subject to change because of natural or human influences. Issues such as fishing, migration, reproduction, growth, and death are included under population dynamics. Hanselman was awarded a three-year fellowship; Grogan, a two-year grant.

Sylvia Brant of the University of California, Berkeley, Calif., and Ronald Felthoven of the University of California, Davis, Calif., were awarded two-year fellowships in marine resource economics, which looks at the economics of the conservation and management of living marine resources.

In addition to working with their major professor at their university, each Fellow will also work closely with a mentor from the NMFS. The Fellows are also required to work each summer of their fellowship at a participating NMFS facility.

The fellowships, in the form of a $38,000 annual grant to the university to cover salary, living expenses, tuition, and travel for the fellow, begin on or about June 1, 2000. Recipients were selected by a review panel.

Students applying for the population dynamics fellowships must have been admitted into a Ph.D. program in population dynamics or a related field; those applying for the marine resource economics fellowships must have been in the process of completing at least two years of course work in a Ph.D. program in natural resource economics or a related field. The fellowship program is open to students at any United States university.