Student Achievements and Awards
Student Awards
- IMPACT Awards
- UNC Awards and Fellowships
- Other Awards and Fellowships
- Outreach Activities – Highlights
- Graduate Student Papers
Impact Awards from the Graduate Education Advancement Board at UNC- Chapel Hill:
*Photos and information courtesy of the Graduate School at UNC-CH
2021: Sarah Donaher (Marine Science), The Clam’s Role in Helping Vital Seagrass Meadows Thrive Again
2020: Kelsey Jesser (Marine Science), Coastal Microbial Ecology
2020: Matt Kenworthy (Environment and Ecology), Movement Ecology and Habitat Utilization of Estuarine Fish
2017: Adam Gold (Environment and Ecology), Stormwater Ponds and Their Connections to Coastal Water Quality
2016: Luke Dodd (Marine Sciences), Using GPS, Laser Technology to Calculate Where Oyster Reefs Will Thrive
2016: Justin Ridge (Marine Sciences), Assessing Potential Threats, Benefits for Oyster Reefs
2015: Kellen Lauer (Marine Sciences), Storms and Water Quality for Beachgoers
2015: Ethan Theuerkauf (Marine Sciences), Sea-Level Anomalies and Beach Erosion
2014: Rachel Gittman (Environment and Ecology), What Salt Marshes Can Tell State Leaders
2013: Andrea Anton Gamazo (Environment and Ecology), Ecology and Evolution of the Lionfish Invasion of the Caribbean
2012: Nate Geraldi (Environment and Ecology), Identifying Best Ways to Maximize Oyster Population Growth
2012: Ashley Smyth (Environment and Ecology), Assessing Water Quality Enhancement Through Oyster Reef Restoration
2011: Emily Elliott (Environment and Ecology), Skinny Beaches: Understanding Barrier Development and Erosion in North Carolina
2011: Curtis H. Stumpf (Environment and Ecology), Rapid and Accurate Determination of Fecal Pathogens in N.C. Coastal Waters
UNC Awards and Fellowships:
- Zofia Knorek (Environment and Ecology – ENEC), Royster Society of Fellows – UNC Chapel Hill Graduate School
- Molly Bost (Marine Science – MASC), Graduate School Dissertation Completion Fellowship – UNC-Chapel Hill Graduate School
- Shelby Ziegler (Environment and Ecology – ENEC), Horizon Award – UNC Chapel Hill Graduate School
- Avery Paxton (Environment and Ecology – ENEC), Royster Society of Fellows – UNC Chapel Hill Carol and Edward Smithwick Dissertation Fellowship
- Danielle Keller (Environment and Ecology – ENEC), Dissertation Completion Fellowship from the Graduate School
- Avery Paxton (Environment and Ecology – ENEC), UNC Global Partnership Award ($1,000), Support for travel to Albania to conduct research in marine protected area near Sazani Island with colleagues from the Albanian Center for Marine Research
Other Awards and Fellowships:
- Jessamin Straub, John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship – Executive Fellow North Carolina Sea Grant
- Grace Roskar, John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship – Executive FellowFlorida Sea Grant
- Carter Smith, P.E.O. International Scholar Award
- Ian Kroll, Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship
- Carter Smith, National Science Foundation EAPSI, Royster fellowship
- Alexandria Hounshell, National Science Foundation EAPSI
- Bryce Van Dam, National Science Foundation EAPSI, CERF Travel Grant
- Kathleen Onorevole, CERF Travel Grant, SAML Student Support Award, Society of Wetland Scientists- South Atlantic Chapter Student Travel Award
- Avery Paxton, Philanthropic Educational Organization (P.E.O.) Scholar Award, and Kenan-Biddle Partnership
- Emily Elliott, Association of Women Geologists Chrysalis Award
- Carter Smith, Coastal Conservation Association of NC Graduate Scholarship, NC Sea Grant Coastal Policy Fellowship, Royster fellowship, AERS Outstanding Graduate Student Presentation, and AERS Anne C. Powell Student Travel Award
- Justin Ridge, Kenan-Biddle Partnership, Coastal Conservation Association of NC Graduate Scholarship
- Ethan Theuerkauf, Kenan-Biddle Partnership
- Alexandria Hounshell, WWRI Student Research Fellowship, Southern Association of Marine Laboratories Student Support Award
- Martin Benavides, Peruvian National Council of Science, Technology and Innovation International PhD Scholarship
- Danielle Keller, Sea Grant Coastal Research Fellowship
- Kathleen Onorevole, Southern Association of Marine Laboratories Student Support Award, Southeastern Estuarine Research Society (SEERS) CERF Student Travel Award, Society of Wetland Scientists- South Atlantic Chapter Student Travel Award
- Bryce Van Dam, Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) Travel Grant, National Science Foundation – East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes (NSF -EAPSI)
- Ian Kroll, NOAA NMFS/Sea Grant Graduate Fellowship in Marine Population Dynamics
- Carter Smith, Royster fellowship
- Stephanie Wear, Nature Science Fellowship
- Danielle Keller, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship ($132,000), Three years stipend plus tuition awarded for academic merit and hard substrate research proposal, to be used over a period of five years.
- Michelle Brodeur, National Estuarine Research Reserve System Graduate Research Fellowship
- Ian Kroll, NOAA Fisheries/Sea Grant Fellowship in Marine Population Dynamics, and 2013-2016 NOAA Fisheries Sea Grant Fellowship
- Avery Paxton, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship ($132,000), Three years stipend plus tuition awarded for academic merit and hard substrate research proposal, to be used over a period of five years.
- Michelle Brodeur, NOAA Walter B. Jones Sr. Award for Excellence in Coastal and Marine Graduate Study; North Carolina Sea Grant Fellowship
- Emily Elliott, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
- Amy Pflaumer, Marine Technology Society Scholarship
- Ethan Theuerkauf, National Geographic Society Young Explorers Grant; SEPM- Society for Sedimentary Geology Graduate Research Grant
- Michelle Brodeur, NOAA- National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Graduate Fellowship
- Emily Elliott, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
- Anna Jalowska, NOAA Fisheries/Sea Grant Fellowship
- Emily Elliott, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
- Elizabeth Saunders Calandrino, National Estuarine Research Reserve System Graduate Research Fellowship
- Elizabeth Saunders Calandrino, National Estuarine Research Reserve System Graduate Research Fellowship
Outreach Activities – Highlights
- SciREN Coast & Triangle
- Avery, Max, Abbey (IE), Kayla (IE): Speaker, Carteret Community College C-STEP ‘Day at IMS,’ ‘A day in the life of a scientist studying offshore reefs of NC,’ 30 October 2015 (~10 people)
- Avery Paxton, Claire Rosemond, Hayley Lemoine: Invited Scientist and Activity Coordinator, ‘Offshore Reefs – “What? We have Reefs off NC?”’ NC Seafood Festival, Morehead City, NC, 2 October 2015 (~150 students)
- Avery Paxton – Invited Speaker, Beaufort Ole Towne Rotary Club, ‘Offshore Reefs: Secret Gardens of North Carolina,’ 14 December 2015 (~50 people)
- Carter Smith, Isabelle Neyland: At the Water’s Edge, NC teacher’s workshop. July 31 2015 (~ 30 NC 8th-12th grade science teachers)
- Kathleen Onorevole. “Oyster Science at the Beach.” Presentation and experiment at Home School Day at NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. September 10, 2015. (90 K-8 home-schooled children, 30-40 parents)
- Kathleen Onorevole. “Clear Waters Ahead for Oyster Restoration.” North Carolina Sea Grant Currents blog guest post. February 10, 2015.
- Kathleen Onorevole. “Soil Science at the Beach.” Presentation and experiment at Johnson Primary School, Camp Lejeune, Jacksonville, NC. May 20, 2016. (~100 1st grade students)
- UNdertheC blog. Resident bloggers Alex Hounshell, Shelby Ziegler, Kathleen Onorevole. Guest IMS bloggers: Julie Geyer, Becky Fitzula, Larisa Bennett (IE). (~75 visitors per day)
- Ian Kroll– 2015- “Saving Black Sea Bass.” Public Broadcasting Service via UNC-TV Science.
- Ian Kroll– 2015- “Does it really start at hone? How North Carolina marine habitats influence black sea bass growth and maturity.” North Carolina Sea Grant: Coastwatch Magazine.
- Ian Kroll-2015- “Local researcher aims to bolster black sea bass fishery.” National Public Radio via Public Radio East.
- Avery Paxton: ‘Wind Energy Area Biological Surveys,’ video produced by John McCord (UNC-CSI), February 2016
- Avery Paxton: ‘Picking the right spot: how scientists find the best places to put future wind energy sites in the ocean,’ NOAA National Ocean Service News, February 2016.
- Avery Paxton: ‘Shipwrecks off coast prove beneficial for marine life,’ WCTI-12 News by Jonathan Weant, November 2015.
- Avery Paxton: ‘Recognizing North Carolina’s wind energy potential,’ The News & Observer, op-ed by Harvey Seim (UNC), includes our findings on reefs, September 2015.
- Avery Paxton: Invited Speaker, P.E.O. State Convention, ‘Passport to the Graveyard of the Atlantic,’ 3 June 2016 (~400 people), Raleigh, NC.
- Matt Kenworthy, Michelle Brodeur, Quin Walker, Max Lewis, Martin Benavides: Invited Scientist: “What lives on an oyster reef:” NC Seafood Science Smart School Program, NC Seafood Festival, Morehead City, NC, 2 October 2015 (~150 students)
- Justin Ridge, Matt Kenworthy, Michelle Brodeur, Quin Walker, Alex Hounshell: Coastal habitat game; Marine Science Day hosted by the Rachel Carson Reserve and the National Estuarine Research Reserve; November 14, 2015. (~100 general public)
- Bryce Van Dam: NC Science Festival, Hands on Ocean Acidification Experiments (~200 K-12 students)
- Martin Benavides: “Drone surveys for bonnethead sharks” Presentation at Morehead Middle School on March 23, 2016 for ~20 8th grade students
- Danielle Keller, Mariah Livernois, Alex Hounshell, Kar Howe, Ben Peierls, Kathleen Onorevole. Coastal habitat carnival game. Fort Macon Earth Day, Atlantic Beach, NC. April 16, 2016. (~50 children, ~80 adults)
- Ethan Theuerkauf, Justin Ridge: Invited Scientists: Invite-a-Scientist Program, “What it means to be a Coastal Geologist” Pamlico Middle School, April 20, 2016. (80 students)
- Justin Ridge, Invited Scientist, Graduate Education Day, North Carolina General Assembly, Raleigh, May 24, 2016.
- Ethan Theuerkauf, Justin Ridge: Invited Speakers: “Our Changing Coast” NOSB Professional Development Webinar series, January 19, 2016
- Ethan Theuerkauf, Justin Ridge: Invited Speakers: “What it means to be a Coastal Geologist” Presentation to Exceptional Family Member Group, MCCS Cherry Point, July 7, 2015 (10 children, 5 adults)