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Congratulations to the 2008 Graduate Student Research Award Winners!

The First Annual NPRB Graduate Student Research Award competition was announced at the 2008 Marine Science Symposium. Thirty-seven applications were received from 18 masters students and 19 doctoral students. After reviews by the Science Panel Award Subcommittee and the Board, five winners were selected; each will receive a one-time award of $20,000.

Masters

• Shannon O’Brien, UW | Impacts of climate change on Pacific sleeper sharks and co-occurring benthic shark species, spiny dogfish and bluntnose sixgill sharks, as revealed by DNA sequences
• Elizabeth Atwood, UW | Influence of coastal-origin mesoscale eddies on ichthyoplankton assemblages in the Gulf of Alaska

Doctoral

• Mary Hunsicker, UW | Evaluating the trophic role of the commander squid and the factors regulating squid abundance in the eastern Bering Sea continental slope ecosystem
• Markus Janout, UAF | Atmospheric and oceanic contributions on ocean temperatures in the northern Gulf of Alaska
• Rebecca Young, UAF | Development of molecular techniques for monitoring demographic structure of Bering Sea seabird populations

Photo Contest Winners Announced

At the annual April meeting, Board and Advisory Panel members awarded prizes to the top six photos submitted in response to the 2008 Photo Contest. Out of more than 200 entries, Mark Henspeter was top in the Youth category. Todd Warshaw, Leif Mjos, and Ward Hulbert won in the Adult category. Left: First Place, by Todd Warshaw, was taken at Skolbi Rock off the coast of St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea. Read More

Board Approves Sponsorship of 2008 Marine Mammals of the Holarctic Conference

At its April meeting, the Board contributed $15,000 to support the fifth annual Marine Mammals of the Holarctic Conference, to be held this year in Odessa, Ukraine, from October 14-28.

• See proceedings from the 2006 conference
• See proceedings from the 2002 and 2004 conferences

NPRB Sponsors Graduate Student Attendance at 2008 Arctic Forum

Two graduate students have been awarded travel scholarships to present their work at the 2008 ARCUS Arctic Forum, "Tipping Points: The Arctic and Global Change," in Washington, DC. Graduate students working in a field related to the Arctic Forum’s focus on water and the arctic environment were eligible for the scholarship. Scholarships were awarded to:

• Xuehua Cui (PhD), University of Tennessee, “Effects of Environmental variations on spatial distribution of groundfish in the northern Bering Sea”
• Elena Bondareva (PhD), Arctic and Antarctic Institute, St. Peterburg, Russia, “Nutrient Budget Investigation on the Chukchi Sea Shelf”
  

NPRB Sponsors Awards at 2008 Alaska Science and Engineering Fair

The Alaska Science and Engineering Fair is a science, engineering, and mathematics fair for Alaska students in grades K-12. NPRB staff volunteered as judges and awarded prizes for excellence in marine science-related projects.

Winner: High School

Denali Whiting, Kotzebue High School, Kotzebue, for "Investigating the Antibacterial Properties of Seal and Beluga Oil." Denali won $100 and a Behind-the-Scenes Tour at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, and is shown at left with NPRB Assistant Program Manager Carrie Eischens.

Winner: Middle School

Kelsey Meacham (left), Romig Middle School, Anchorage, for "Oil and Ice: The effects of sea ice on oil spills in the Arctic." Kelsey won $75 and a Behind-the-Scenes Tour at the SeaLife Center.

Supporting research to enable effective management and sustainable use of Alaska's marine resources
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