海角社区

BATON ROUGE - Impact is the name of the game for a trio of CC&E鈥檚 current and former students, as they take their scientific training and analytical abilities into the policy space. As in the National Academies' Gulf Research Program, these students will gain experience as they apply research skills to real life policy situations.

CC&E representation amongst the Fellows was strong, as only ten total fellowships were awarded to applicants from around Gulf Coast and the nation. Awardees will spend a year working on the staff of federal and state government agencies, public health departments and non profit organizations in areas around the Gulf of Mexico. 

CC&E students awarded the fellowship were:

• Jennifer Irving, a PhD candidate in the Department of Environmental Sciences, or DES
• Elizabeth Harris, a Masters student in the Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences, or DOCS
• Katherine Loesser, a recent graduate of the DOCS Masters program

Harris, who has also worked in Tracy Quirk鈥檚 Wetland Plant Ecology lab, will be placed with Texas Parks and Wildlife, in Coastal Fisheries.

鈥淓ssentially, I'll be working at the intersection of scientific data collection and how effective fisheries management practices can help us conserve resources while also supporting the communities that rely on access to these resources,鈥� she said. 

Irving will spend her time as a Fellow at the Houston Advanced Research Center, or HARC, a non-profit environmental and energy research hub.

Irving believes completing this fellowship will impact her dissertation research. 鈥淢y dissertation research work focuses on identifying areas in Louisiana that have high environmental health burdens due to cumulative environmental health risks. Through this fellowship, I hope to learn how to develop partnerships, find funding, and implement the types of projects that will address environmental injustice, enhance resilience, and improve environmental health in the communities that need it most.鈥�

The program is run by the National Academy鈥檚 Gulf Research Program, and is designed to benefit Gulf Coast communities. 

鈥淭he Science Policy Fellowship pairs talented scientists with organizations across the Gulf of Mexico region working to solve complex local challenges,鈥� said Karena Mary Mothershed, senior program manager for the GRP鈥檚 Board on Gulf Education and Engagement. 鈥淭hese partnerships support emerging scientific leaders as they advance evidence-based policy for the benefit of Gulf Coast communities.鈥�