5 Cal Poly Students Awarded Marine Research Grants
Five Cal Poly biological sciences students have been awarded grant funding from the Earl Myers and Ethel Myers Oceanographic and Marine Biology Trust. The awards total $7,200.
The five students are the first from Cal Poly to earn the prestigious Myers Trust grants. Thirty students were awarded grants statewide.
The grants, named for Earl H. Myers, a renowned marine researcher, and his wife, Ethel, who assisted Myers in research, support outstanding student research in the marine sciences.
“Cal Poly’s standing in our first year of applications for support from the Earl Myers and Ethel Myers Oceanographic and Marine Biology Trust highlights two important points,” said Christopher Kitts, chair of the Biological Sciences Department. “First, we have fantastic students who compete at a high level. And, second, our faculty are providing research opportunities on par with those available from primarily research-oriented institutions.”
The grants stand as a blockbuster debut for Cal Poly’s Marine Sciences program, which will begin offering a bachelor’s degree in marine sciences this fall.
This year's awards went to the following students:
Cory Elowe, a graduate student, is working with professor Lars Tomanek on a project titled “Circadian and circatidal rhythms of protein abundance in the intertidal mussel Mytilus californianus.”
Katie Grady, a graduate student, is working with professor Crow White on a project titled “Is poleward geographic range expansion of an emerging fisheries species driven by El Niño?”
Shawn Hannah, a senior, is working on a project titled “Coccidioidomycosis in stranded marine mammals along California’s coast” alongside professor Heather Liwanag.
Leslie Hart, a graduate student, is working on a project title “Evaluating recruitment seasonality of red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) to inform fisheries management and conservation policy" alongside professor Jennifer O'Leary.
Madelyn Roycroft, a graduate student, is working on a project titled “Investigating the Impacts of Overfishing on Parrotfish Feeding Behavior in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands” alongside professor professor Benjamin Ruttenberg
