The New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium recently announced its latest round of Sea Grant-funded research projects that are included in the program’s omnibus for 2018-2020.
As previously reported, NJSGC received a record-breaking number of research pre-proposals from a diverse array of institutions in early 2017, all seeking funding to conduct research to respond to the priorities identified in NJSGC’s most recent request for proposals. Of the 43 pre-proposals submitted, NJSGC’s Technical Review Panel (TRP) recommended that 17 move forward to the final round of review. Full proposals were submitted in June and assessed until the end of the year.
During the rigorous review process, priorities for funding such research were determined through a collaborative process that received input from stakeholders, NJSGC’s advisory boards and partners, and several other objective specialists. The final projects were selected based on relevancy and scientific rigor using a competitive, peer-reviewed evaluation. As a result, the select projects chosen for funding reflect local concerns and seek solutions to New Jersey’s most pressing marine and coastal issues. The current cycle covers a wide range of topics, including:
While these projects span a variety of topics, they all contribute towards NJSGC’s mission to provide sound scientific data to promote wise decision-making about New Jersey’s coastal and marine resources. Projects are funded in part through a grant from NOAA/National Sea Grant which NJSGC has successfully managed in the state of New Jersey since 1976.
Marine Science Day Camp at the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium offers “hands-on” science learning for children interested in the ocean and marine life. Camp is held on Sandy Hook and combines outdoor explorations of the beach and bay with laboratory experiments and fun, educational games and crafts. Instructor to camper ratio is 1 to 6. The six updated sessions for 2018 are now listed below.
Please note that sessions are geared towards specific grade levels. For more information on the focus of each session, click here. Contact Rose Higgins at 732-872-1300 x19 to reserve a spot for your student today!
The Jersey Shore Junior Science Symposium will be held March 22-23, 2018 at Ocean County College in Toms River, NJ.
JSJSS is designed to challenge, engage, and publicly recognize students (Grades 9-12) conducting research in the sciences, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM). The Army will sponsor five topic areas during the 2018 event:
Best in Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials Science (Additive Manufacturing) Best in Robotics Best in Computing, Computer Science, and Engineering Best in Aerospace and Astrophysics Best in Environmental and Earth Sciences
Finalists will compete for several extensive awards, including a $300 (first place) scholarship from the NJSGC.
Fore more information, please visit the official JSJSS website.
Registration is now CLOSED, but we strongly encourage teachers and students to attend as spectators. Please refer to the summary page or email sjjss@ocean.edu for more details and consideration.
The NOAA/Sea Grant Coastal Management and Digital Coast Fellowship provides two years of on-the-job education and training in coastal resource management and policy for postgraduate students. The program matches postgraduate students with state coastal resource agencies and nonprofit organizations to work on coastal projects proposed by state officials and selected by the NOAA Office for Coastal Management. Deadline to apply is January 19, 2018. For general information on the Coastal Management and Digital Coast Fellowship go to: http://coast.noaa.gov/fellowship/. Also view the updated ‘digital coast’ announcement here.
Former NJSGC associate Jackie Specht was recently awarded the Coastal Management Fellowship and matched with Maryland’s Chesapeake and Coastal Service to continue studying the beneficial reuse of dredge material.
The NOAA/Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship matches graduate students interested in ocean resources and the national policy decisions affecting them with “hosts” in the Washington, D.C. area for a one-year paid fellowship. Any student, regardless of citizenship, is eligible if enrolled towards a degree in an accredited graduate program. Interested applicants must apply through their local Sea Grant Program. New Jersey applicants are strongly encouraged to reach out to Dr. Peter Rowe or Ms. Claire Antonucci a minimum of one month prior to the state application deadline to provide notification of their intent to apply and request application support. Applicants should also allow sufficient time to schedule an interview at the program’s request. The state application deadline for New Jersey students to submit their final application package to NJSGC is February 23, 2018, 5pm local time. For more information on the Knauss Fellowship go to: http://seagrant.noaa.gov/Knauss.
The NOAA Fisheries/Sea Grant Joint Graduate Fellowship Program in Population and Ecosystem Dynamics and Marine Resource Economics is designed to strengthen the collaboration between Sea Grant and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The Fellowship is available to US citizens who are graduate students enrolled in PhD degree programs in academic institutions in the United States and its territories. Fisheries Fellows will work on thesis problems of public interest and relevance to NMFS at participating NMFS Science Centers or Laboratories under the guidance of NMFS mentors. Deadline to apply is January 26, 2018. For general information on the NOAA Fisheries/Sea Grant Fellowships go to: http://seagrant.noaa.gov/NMFS-SG-Fellowship.
Read more about these fellowships and how to apply here.
NOAA Sea Grant and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) are pleased to once again be partnering together for the NMFS-Sea Grant Joint Fellowship program. Two federal funding opportunities (FFO) are currently open to applicants seeking funding beginning in 2018.
The NMFS-Sea Grant Joint Fellowship program supports students pursuing doctoral degrees in population and ecosystem dynamics as well as marine resources economics. The program is a focused workforce development effort to train highly qualified professionals for NOAA’s science-based approach to fisheries management.
Since its inception, the joint fellowship program has supported 81 population and ecosystem dynamics students and 32 marine resource economics students. About 40% of the alumni now work for NOAA.
For more information and details on applying, please click here.
Leaves are turning color and there’s a slight crisp in the air at NJSGC. Fall means a bustling season of programs, events, field trips, and more!
In this edition of the COASTodian, learn more about ongoing projects, current advances in aquaculture education, the importance of understanding storm surge, and why three members of the NJSGC staff recently traveled to Astoria, Oregon. We’ve also dedicated a section to mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, including details on Monmouth County’s High Water Mark Initiative.
NJSGC strives to inform the public about coastal and environmental concerns in new and exciting ways – please take a look!
We’re also working hard to provide fresh and entertaining content on NJSGC’s official Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages. Be sure to check out what’s new and get involved by tagging us on social media! Please visit njseagrant.org for further information and updates.
NOAA recently announced 32 research grants totaling $9.3 million for projects around the country to further develop the nation’s marine and costal aquaculture industry. NJSGC will receive $149,219 of this funding for an Establishing Shellfish Hatchery Biosecurity Certification Standards to Facilitate Interstate Transport of Shellfish Seed project. According to the National Sea Grant College Program website:
This project seeks to fulfill several objectives, including host a three-day workshop that convenes the existing Hatchery Certification Working Group established with prior Sea Grant funding to visit operational shellfish hatcheries of varying size and design to enable the group to overcome its own internal impediments and reach consensus on an initial shellfish hatchery certification protocol; to finalize a set of guidelines that are adaptable to varying situations geographically or temporarily and responsive to varying levels of acceptable risk; to initiate certification of one or more hatcheries; and to refine and disseminate progress and results.
NOAA initially received 126 proposals requesting nearly $58 million in federal funds, of which 32 projects were chosen. For a complete list, including short descriptions of each awarded grant project, please click here.
In an effort to raise flood risk awareness and action, many of Monmouth County’s coastal communities are participating in the Monmouth County High Water Mark Initiative.
As a component of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the HWM Initiative uses signs on public and private property to show the high water mark from past flooding events, like Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Through this initiative, the County and its partners have already placed nearly 100 high water mark signs throughout 14 towns and 2 federal sites (including Sandy Hook).
To increase awareness of this initiative and to convey information about flood risk, safety, preparedness, and community resilience to students, New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium has created a Teachers Guide to the Monmouth County High Water Mark Initiative.
Our hope is that this guide will be used by New Jersey’s formal and informal educators to teach students about flood risk so students and their families will be well-informed before future events. The lessons and activities included in this guide could be integrated into your science lessons on weather, climate, or human impact on the earth, or during social studies lessons on geography or people and the environment. Connections to language arts and mathematics could be made as well.
It is our hope that by highlighting ecological solutions to New Jersey’s coastal hazards, we can help communities prepare and adapt to ongoing and future changes, strengthening long-term coastal resilience for both people and wildlife. This guide advances practices that can help coastal communities to become safer and more sustainable in ways that work with, rather than against, nature. It describes ecological solutions to coastal community hazards, including measures to protect open space, enhance and protect coastal ecosystems (including beaches and dunes, coastal forests and shrublands, and tidal marshes) in ways that increase elevation and reduce erosion and flooding risks.
This project was recently awarded the “Outstanding Community Engagement or Education Award” for a planning project or initiative that has involved or resulted in significant advancement of community comprehension of planning issues or outcomes. BESCCH was nominated by the NJ Chapter of the American Planning Association via Linda Weber and Sustainable Jersey.
Memebers of Troop 36 from Long Valley, NJ earned their Environmental Science merit badges on the shores of Sandy Hook earlier this month. Congrats to the Scouts, and thanks for joining us in the NJSGC lab!
For more information on NJSGC’s Scouts Program, please click here.
