SMAST Ph.D. student Valerie Hall has been awarded $22,000 by the Nancy Sayles Day Foundation to conduct research on the life cycle of the bay scallop. Valerie is working to resolve a set of unknowns about the species' spawning cycle, specifically regarding early summer versus fall spawning. "In a short-lived species like the bay scallop [two-year lifespan]," she explained, "it is imperative that individuals not be taken by the commercial fishery until they have spawned and thus contributed to the population. Understanding the spawning cycle is essential to the management of the bay scallop fishery on Nantucket, the last sustained commercial fishery of this species in the world." The grant will be administered by the Maria Mitchell Association, for whom Valerie holds a position as Research Associate.

SMAST notes with sadness the recent passing of Karen G. Lloyd, environmentalist and philanthropist. This school was among the many beneficiaries of Ms. Lloyd's support of environmental research and education. The SMAST laboratory that she endowed, and that bears her name since its opening in 1997, is the heart of the Coastal Systems complex at SMAST. She also established the Lynn Bross Trayser Mitchell Scholarship in memory of her daughter, a fund that supports UMass Dartmouth students serving environmental research or educational internships at SMAST. Coastal Systems Group Director Brian Howes said of Ms. Lloyd, "She was one of the pillars of environmental protection in southeast Massachusetts." SMAST Interim Dean John Farrington noted, “K.G., as she was known to her close friends and colleagues, was a global citizen with a keen intellect and interest in the power of education and activism for worthy causes, which she supported in both word and deed.”

SMAST has established a new summer internship that offers undergraduates the opportunity to participate in funded research and earn college credits at the same time. The internship, officially MAR 499, was launched this past summer by Prof. Cindy Pilskaln. The first student to enroll in the course was Catherine Knight, a geology major from Mt. Holyoke College who worked with Prof. Pilskaln this past summer on her ongoing red tide research project, assisting her both at sea and in the laboratory. Catherine (pictured at left) is now on her way to spend a semester abroad in New Zealand, studying the local geology. For further information on the internship course, contact Prof. Pilskaln at cpilskaln@umassd.edu.

SMAST Ph.D. student Cate O'Keefe garnered an extraordinary honor last week at the annual science conference of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea in Berlin. She was chosen for the 2009 Merit Award for the best presentation at the conference. The competition was nearly 400 other papers by marine scientists from all over the world. Cate's presentation was "From bust to boom: The success of industry collaboration in U.S. sea scallop research," co-authored with her advisor, Prof. Kevin D. E. Stokesbury. Read more.

Allan R. Robinson, renowned ocean scientist and SMAST Distinguished Senior Fellow, died last week at 76. The Gordon McKay Professor, Emeritus, of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics at Harvard University, Prof. Robinson is recognized as a pioneer and leading expert in both geophysical fluid dynamics and modern ocean prediction. He also played a key role in the launching and development of SMAST. Interim Dean John Farrington, who served on the SMAST Board of Advisors with Professor Robinson, remembers him as "a dedicated member of the committee, and persuasive in advocating for the best science for SMAST." Former Dean Brian Rothschild recalls, "Allan Robinson was an intellectual driving force in oceanography and at SMAST. His influence shaped our multidisciplinary excellence in oceanography and fisheries." Read more.

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