In the Classroom:
Connecting Students with Opportunities It all starts in the classroom. With the UCI’s involvement, the “classroom” can be 15 miles at sea, in a pristine coastal forest, on a beach fishing in the middle of the night, or in a state-of-the-art lab on campus. This annual report offers a glimpse of the UCI’s impact in marine science, coastal policy, community resilience and climate adaptation in 2019. This work not only helps bolster the Mid-Atlantic’s coastal environments and economies—it enhances the student experience. It places students on a path to make their aspirations and professional dreams come true. Among the ways the UCI supports academics: • Faculty Enrichment Grants: The UCI offers support for the enhancement of existing curriculum, new curriculum development, research and scholarship, and team-teaching opportunities. These grants have been used by professors to carry out innovative research projects using students as their research teams, and to pair instructors from separate departments (such as mathematics and biology) to create new courses dedicated to unique research questions. • Mini-Grants: Funding is available for students and faculty to attend conferences, support symposia on campus, invite guest speakers, purchase equipment and supplies to support classwork (see ocean posters example to the right), and other needs.
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• Vessels & Equipment: The UCI maintains three University research vessels and a collection of cutting-edge technologies which are available to support classes and research efforts (see page 7). Students can also take advantage of paid opportunities to support UCI work. • Campus Connections: With a deep pool of partners in science, government, academia, NGOs and industry, the UCI serves as a nexus between the campus community and America’s most influential leaders in marine-related fields. The UCI frequently brings these experts to campus for involvement ranging from guest lectures and panel talks (see page 12) to long-term research collaborations.
Art Class Creates Ocean Event Posters With the support of a UCI mini-grant, students in Associate Professor Jing Zhou’s Digital Illustration course designed a series of posters promoting real and fictitious events about the ocean and coastal ecosystems. Zhou purchased calligraphy tools and supplies and coached the students to incorporate calligraphical elements into their work. Their final posters were created using Adobe Illustrator.
