UCI Scholars: Training Tomorrow’s Ocean Leaders

Each year the UCI provides opportunities for dozens of students to conduct hands-on research projects that provide real world experience while making a positive impact in coastal communities. Offered through the UCI Scholars program, these competitive awards provide grants to students of all disciplines whose work would advance core elements of Monmouth’s Strategic Plan and support the UCI’s mission.

Funding is provided through the generosity of many private and corporate donors to the UCI’s Marine Science and Policy Initiative and Heidi Lynn Sculthorpe Summer Research Program. See right for a list of student summer research projects supported in 2019.

UCI 2019 Student Summer Research

Can Rainfall Predict Fecal Indicator Bacteria Levels at Monmouth County Surfing Beaches Near Stormwater Outfalls? Students: Kelly Hanna, Victoria Lohnes, Erin Conlon, Skyler Post, Maria Riley and Ariel Zavala | Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jason Adolf, Dept. of Biology Characterizing Deoxygenation and Harmful Algal Blooms in Branchport Creek, New Jersey Students: Skye Post and Erin Conlon | Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jason Adolf, Dept. of Biology Chesapeake Bay Archaeological Mapping Student: Chris Menke | Faculty Mentor: Dr. Geoffrey Fouad, Dept. of History and Anthropology Conservation and Demographics of New Jersey Coastal Sharks and Sturgeon Students: Hannah Craft, Lauren Kelly, and Michael Nguyen | Faculty Mentor: Dr. Keith Dunton, Dept. of Biology Dominican Civil Society: A Democratic Response to Climate Change Students: Matthew Gruhler and Alexis Vasquez | Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ken Mitchell, Dept. of Political Science and Sociology Marine Biology Careers App Design Students: Gianna Rossi and Stephanie Brown | Faculty Mentor: Prof. Linh Dao, Dept. of Art and Design Nutrient Pollution and Harmful Algal Blooms Take a Toll on Monmouth County Coastal Lakes Students: Ariel Zavala, Maria Riley, Erin Conlon, Kelly Hanna, Victoria Lohnes, Skyler Post | Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jason Adolf, Dept. of Biology Reptile and Amphibian Surveys in Urbanized Ecosystems Students: Travis Kirk and Christiana Popo | Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sean Sterrett, Dept. of Biology Using Environmental DNA (eDNA) to Track Black Sea Bass and Winter Flounder in a Controlled Tank Environment Students: Karolina Szenkiel and Sean Kuback | Faculty Mentor: Dr. Megan Phifer-Rixey, Dept. of Biology

MONMOUTH FEATURED IN NATGEO’S ‘WHEN SHARKS ATTACK’

UCI ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIPS

As part of the University’s Together We Can scholarship campaign, four UCI scholarships were endowed: • Ann and Alfred L. Ferguson ’13HN UCI Endowed Scholarship • Rita Mangan UCI Endowed Scholarship • Macdonald Family UCI Endowed Scholarship • Urban Coast Institute Endowed Scholarship Thanks to all who contributed to this initiative. We hope these funds continue to grow and expand opportunities for Monmouth students for years to come. Thanks to the generosity of Monmouth University Trustee Valerie Montecalvo and her husband, Frank, the UCI celebrated the success of the scholarship campaign aboard the yacht Nicole Evelyn.

(l-r) UCI Advisory Committee members Kenneth Pringle and Rita Mangan, Monmouth University Trustee Valerie Montecalvo, and UCI Director Tony MacDonald aboard the Nicole Evelyn.

An episode of the National Geographic Channel series “When Sharks Attack” that was filmed aboard Monmouth University’s R/V Heidi Lynn Sculthorpe aired around the world in the summer. The episode, titled “Jersey Gore,” recounted the infamous Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916 that inspired “Jaws” and examined theories for the causes.

The crew interviewed Assistant Professor Keith Dunton aboard the vessel and observed as he and student researchers caught and tagged sharks off Sandy Hook. The students were engaged in ongoing research on the populations and migration patterns of East Coast shark and elasmobranch species supported by the UCI’s Heidi Lynn Sculthorpe Summer Research Program.