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The Island View
Monthly Newsletter
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Greetings from the porch of the Kingsbury House - I am a few days from my season’s end! Something shifts when you have been away from the mainland for a long time. My senses are tuning in to more subtle seasonal changes. The space between the gull calls is elongating, the migrating swallows are swarming the radar tower, and the sunset's color palette and pattern has become more distinct. Dr. Art Borror, who visited over Alumni and Friends Weekend, stopped me one night and pointed out the mesmerizing symphony of insects as we strolled to dinner. Ever since, I became aware of the sound of dozens of species of grasshoppers and cicadas combining with ocean waves to achieve a wonderful soporific lullaby.
Speaking of Alumni and Friends Weekend, what a wonderful time we had with friends and family! The weekend marked the first ever meeting of the SML Alumni and Friends Association. There is a lot of excitement about what this community will mean. From this season's undergraduates to those alums who literally built the dorms in the 70’s, from former SML staff members to long-time volunteers, we hope this association will connect Shoalers of all kinds. You can read a little more about the Alumni and Friends Association below. Until then, fair winds and tranquil seas.
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With deep appreciation and warm wishes,
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Jennifer Seavey, Ph.D.
Kingsbury Executive Director
Shoals Marine Laboratory
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SML Alumni and Friends Association
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Over Alumni and Friends Weekend, SML had the pleasure of hosting the first-ever Alumni and Friends Association (AFA) meeting!
The mission of the AFA is to build connections across the SML community. Whether you are an alum, former staff, or a friend of the lab, we want you to feel pride in your SML connection and access the rich network of our 50+ years!
Our AFA council members are busy drafting a charter and identifying leadership for committees. We will have further updates in later newsletters. For now, you can help us out by
updating your information!
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SML's 53rd Season in Review
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We had an incredible season this year! As we've done in previous seasons, please enjoy 2019 by the numbers:
Student Education
- 20 credit courses offered, including a new course titled Integrated Ecosystem Research and Management
- 201 enrollments (keeping pace with enrollments in 2018!)
- Students came from 33 undergraduate institutions and 59 high schools
- Roughly 500 students expressed interest in SML
- SML awarded $300,000 in scholarships, with 80% of students receiving merit or need-based assistance
- 6 Artists-in-Residence worked with SML students and blended the worlds of art and science
Research
- 18 students came from 11 institutions around the world to conduct research in a wide range of subjects, from parasites to marine mammal biology to sustainable engineering
- 20 student researchers presented at 2 symposia: the 3rd annual Undergraduate Research Symposium and the 14th annual Sustainable Engineering Internship Symposium
- 2 Scientist-in-Residence Fellows conducted research and mentored students
- Dozens of researchers visited from Cornell University, the University of New Hampshire, Dartmouth College, Canisius College, UMass Boston, Tufts University, Northern Essex Community College, and more!
Outreach
Thank you to everyone who made this season possible, to volunteers, researchers, faculty, students, and of course to our dedicated staff! We would not be here without you!
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Shoals Undergraduate Research Group 2019
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Bill Hafker, pictured right, tests the strength of his fish net hammock in 1977.
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We recently heard from SML alum Bill Hafker (’77). Bill is a retired environmental engineer with ExxonMobil, but he has not been idle in retirement! Last year, Bill wrote a paper entitled “
Framework for Credible 2 Degree Celsius Climate Planning
” that can be used by any organization to prepare a plan to reduce its carbon footprint. In an interview with the
Union of Concerned Scientists
, he states that he published it partly to provide an actionable example to the oil industry. Most recently, Bill was nominated to serve on a focus group advising the Fairfax County Virginia Board of Supervisors on their newly launched Community-wide Energy and Climate Action Plan. Here is what Bill had to say about his work:
“I’ve always had a passion for preservation of the environment. Shoals was a special time for me in my studies supporting that goal, because it was the most natural learning environment I ever encountered. I learned less by study than by immersion in the field and lab, and an almost osmotic uptake of knowledge. I’m pleased to see Shoals is now leading in research on climate change impacts to the Gulf of Maine, and itself actively working to reduce its carbon footprint. I spent my 36-year career seeking to bring sound science analysis to the environmental challenges facing ExxonMobil, and had no intention of stopping that lifelong pursuit in retirement. My Credible Climate Planning Framework was my attempt to articulate what any organization, serious about contributing to solving the climate change problem, needs to do to meaningfully accomplish that.”
Have some alumni news you'd like to share with us? We want to hear from you! Click the button to send us a message!
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Closing up SML for the season is always bittersweet. To soothe the separation from Appledore Island, take a few minutes to enjoy this wonderful drone footage titled
Appledore from Above.
Thank you very much to Forrest Seavey for sharing this footage!
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Shoals Marine Laboratory is a joint partnership between
Cornell University and the University of New Hampshire.
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