Students, faculty, and staff of the University of Delaware Graduate College of Marine Studies (CMS) were recognized for their accomplishments at Honors Day ceremonies held Friday, May 8, at the Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes. Dr. Nancy M. Targett, associate dean of CMS, presided over the ceremonies. Guest speaker was CMS alumnus Dr. Nicholas H. Vrolijk, regulatory affairs specialist with Cato Research Ltd., in Durham, North Carolina.
Now in its 28th year, CMS is a graduate college whose mission is to advance the knowledge, wise use, and conservation of global, estuarine, and coastal ocean environments through a program of excellence in research, teaching, and service. Students specialize in one of four program areas -- applied ocean science, marine biology-biochemistry, marine policy, or oceanography -- but gain a working knowledge of each area through interdisciplinary study and hands-on research designed to prepare them well for future careers in academia, industry, and public service. CMS also serves as home to the University of Delaware Sea Grant College Program, a partnership among federal and state governments, universities, industry, and the public, focused on the wise use, conservation, and management of marine and coastal resources.
The E. Sam Fitz Award, recognizing the CMS student who has displayed the greatest aptitude for professional development in the field of marine studies, was awarded to Timothy P. Mavor, Ph.D. graduate in applied ocean science.
The following students were recognized for outstanding theses and dissertations: Jinglan Wu, Ph.D. graduate in marine biology-biochemistry, received the Frances Severance Award for best student thesis or dissertation within CMS. Miriam C. Balgos, doctoral student in marine policy, received the Center for the Study of Marine Policy Award for the best research paper by a student in marine policy. Functioning within CMS, the center focuses on legal, political, and economic marine issues.
Academic Council Awards for the best thesis or dissertation within a program area were awarded to Louis E. Keiner, dissertation in applied ocean science; Jinglan Wu, dissertation in marine biology-biochemistry; Kelly Bungee-Rogers, thesis in marine policy; and Maria G. Honeycutt, thesis in oceanography.
Publications Awards to recognize outstanding student publications went to Niels Henrik Borch, Ph.D. graduate in marine biology-biochemistry, for "Concentration and Composition of Dissolved Combined Neutral Sugars (Polysaccharides) in Seawater Determined by HPLC-PAD," co-authored by Dr. David L. Kirchman, and published in Marine Chemistry; Yun He, Ph.D. student in applied ocean science, for "Surface Heat Fluxes in the Western Equatorial Pacific Ocean Estimated by Bulk Parameterization and by an Inverse Mixed Layer Model," co-authored by Drs. Xiao-Hai Yan and W. T. Liu, and published in the Journal of Physical Oceanography; and Stephen M. Theberge, master's graduate in oceanography, for "Determination of the Electrochemical Properties of a Soluble Aqueous FeS Species Present in Sulfitic Solutions," co-authored by Dr. George W. Luther III, and published in Aquatic Geochemistry.
The following internal fellowships and scholarships were presented:
Tammy R. Brant, master's student in marine policy, and Cecily C. Natunewicz, doctoral student in oceanography, received Marian R. Okie Fellowships granted on the basis of academic and research excellence and demonstrated leadership abilities. The University Competitive Fellowship was presented to Rosemarie Hinkel, master's student in marine policy. Sandra M. Schwalm, master's student in marine biology-biochemistry, received the Dr. Paul R. Austin Sea Grant Student Fellowship, granted on the basis of academic and research excellence in the field of biochemistry.
President's Fellowships for academic and research accomplishments were awarded to Lexia M. Valdes-Murtha, doctoral student in marine biology-biochemistry; and Richard A. Wong, master's student in marine biology-biochemistry.
CMS Program Fellowships were granted to a student in each CMS program on the basis of academic accomplishments. Recipients for 19971998 are Yun He, doctoral student in applied ocean science; Kimberly Hoffman, master's student in marine biology-biochemistry; Miriam C. Balgos, doctoral student in marine policy; and Magdalena D. Anguelova, doctoral student in oceanography.
Six oceanography students received National Science Foundation Graduate Research Traineeships/Fellowships in Coastal Oceanography. They are Cecily C. Natunewicz, master's student, (1995 1998); Carol D. Janzen, doctoral student, and Matthew C. Schwartz, master's student (1996 1998); Michelle R. Overway, master's student (19971999); Susan Park, doctoral student, and Michael W. Whitney, master's student (1998 2000).
Many students received special recognition from international, national, and regional organizations. Alison R. Sipe, master's student in marine biology-biochemistry, received the National Shellfisheries Association Student Poster Award and a Student Travel Award from UD's Commission on the Status of Women. Thomas M. Arnold, doctoral candidate in marine biology-biochemistry, received the 1997 International Society of Chemical Ecology Student Travel Award. Lexia M. Valdes-Murtha, doctoral student in marine biology-biochemistry received the Marine and Estuarine Shallow-Water Science and Management Conference Student Presentation Award. Forbes L. Darby, master's student in marine policy, and Vinton J. Valentine, doctoral student in applied ocean science, were named NOAA graduate research fellows in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System Fellowship Program. Milen Filipov Dyoulgerov, doctoral student in marine policy, and Maria G. Honeycutt, doctoral student in oceanography, received Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowships in the National Sea Grant Federal Fellows Program. Nicole Lopanik, master's student in marine biology-biochemistry, received an honorable mention from the National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship Committee. Richard A. Wong, master's student in marine biology-biochemistry, received a research scholarship from the Delaware Mobile Surf Fishermen, Inc., for his project "Determination of Essential Fish Habitat for the Early Life History Stages of Tautog, Tautoga onitis."
Faculty were recognized for their teaching and research. John S. Boyer, professor of marine biology-biochemistry, received a Bullard Fellowship from Harvard University. George W. Luther III, professor of oceanography, was selected to give the inaugural Fred M. Weissman Lecture in analytical chemistry, University of South Carolina. Xiao-Hai Yan, professor of applied ocean science, received the best paper award from the Fourth International Conference on Remote Sensing for Marine and Coastal Environment. Yan and Vic Klemas, also a professor of applied ocean science, received the Center of Excellence Award from NASA's Office of Mission to Planet Earth.
The following CMS staff also were honored: James M. Falk, Marine Advisory Service Agent IV, earned a Professional Staff Merit Award. Jacqueline Bijansky, technical secretary III, Margaret Ann Conlon, staff assistant, and Julie Ann Tigue, administrative assistant, received Salaried Staff Merit Awards.
The production team of David A. Barczak, art director; Tracey L. Bryant, marine outreach coordinator; Pamela L. Donnelly, production manager; and Claire McCabe, marine outreach specialist, was honored with three awards in the Delaware Press Association's 1998 First State Communications Contest and four awards in the Society for Technical Communication's 1998 Publications Competition for the following projects: Coast Day 1997, University of Delaware Sea Grant Reporter newsletter, CMS Web card, and Inland Bays interpretive sign for Lord Baltimore Elementary School's Environmental Learning Center, Ocean View, Delaware.