The NOAA Educational Partnership Program/Minority Serving Institutions hosted its 10th Biennial Education and Science Forum in Tallahassee, Fla. The science meeting, which was the follow-up installment to the virtual forum held in 2021, served as an opportunity for NOAA EPP Cooperative Science Center scholars to display their research and interact with agency scientists.
This year’s meeting—held from April 6-8—was hosted by Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, the lead institution of the NOAA Center for Coastal and Marine Ecosystems. The theme for the forum, “Two decades of excellence: Nurturing future leaders in STEM,” highlighted the 20 years of educational support, science research and overall diversity that the NOAA Educational Partnership Program has contributed to the STEM field. NOAA scientists and those a part of NOAA’s science centers were given the opportunity to discuss the many accomplishments of the agency’s educational partnership program, in addition to providing an environment for collaboration and dialogue about the innovative research that is taking place in the program’s science centers.
Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University president, Dr. Larry Robinson provided remarks about the success of the educational partnership program. He spoke of the impact that the program has had with universities and with NOAA, in addition to speaking of the EPP program’s uniqueness and innovation.
NOAA Director of Education, Louisa Koch also spoke of how NOAA has benefited from the STEM leaders that have emerged from the agency’s educational partnership program. She elaborated that she hopes more students supported by NOAA programs would gain increased research opportunities and training with the agency.
NOAA Administrator Rich Spinrad, Ph.D, echoed Koch’s sentiments. “What really impressed me…was, obviously, the quality of the work, but also the relevance to the NOAA mission,” stated Spinrad. “Every single one of the posters I saw talked to a critical issue at NOAA.”
Presentation awards (oral and poster) were given to students.
The winners from the NOAA LMRCSC are as follows:
Oral Presentations:
Healthy Oceans:
Second Place – Joe Day, Jr., LMRCSC, Savannah State University
Third Place – Nicholas Coleman, LMRCSC, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Resilient Coastal Communities and Economies:
Second Place – Tahirah Johnson, LMRCSC, University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Third Place – Marcus Teat, LMRCSC, Delaware State University
Poster Presentations:
Climate Adaption and Mitigation:
First Place – Leanne Cohn, LMRCSC, Oregon State University
Healthy Oceans:
First Place – Sena Tay, LMRCSC, Savannah State University
Second Place – Nicholas Coleman, LMRCSC, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Below are highlights from some of the moments at the science Forum.
Teemer Barry, Joe Day, Jr.
Left to Right – Natasha White, NOAA EPP, Nicholas Coleman, Travis Leggett, Sena Tay, Dr. Larry Robinson, Center Director for NOAA Center for Coastal & Marine Ecoscystems
