Nina Santos is a Ph.D. student at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. For her dissertation, she is focused on small shrimp-like crustaceans called mysids – an understudied yet important part of many estuarine and coastal food webs.
Fellowship Experiences
A blog by and about students supported by Maryland Sea Grant
Photo, Debbie Hinkle
Managing Phragmites: Why should I care about a common wetland grass?
Sylvia Jacobson •
Phragmites australis is a non-native grass that has become a dominant wetland plant in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay region in just a few decades. It is pervasive in wetlands across the United States. Phragmites is a powerful ecosystem engineer that absorbs contamination and stores carbon, but it is also a major threat to native plants. Read more...
Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges: A White House Roundtable on Data Science and the Climate Crisis
Kayle Krieg •
I was excited for the new opportunities my State Science Policy Fellowship would bring, but nothing could have prepared me for the email I received from the White House in November. Read more...
Why Do We Care About Stormwater?
Aubrey Tingler •
Flood and stormwater resilience will make our communities safer and more adaptable to environmental change. Fellow Aubrey Tingler is working with the Maryland Department of the Environment on creative, efficient methods to collect data on local flood and stormwater management practices, regulations, and community needs. Read more...
Breaks, calendars, and proposals: Tips for surviving the first semester of graduate school
Allison Dreiss •
One of the most exciting parts of 2022 was learning I would be following my dreams of getting a master’s degree. It was another quiet day of studying for finals down in my apartment when I finally got the email. The email was a great studying break, and I sighed in relief. Read more...
Failure is an Option: The Rewards and Challenges of Fieldwork
Matt Stefanak •
Fieldwork is one of the most challenging, rewarding, and exciting parts of marine science. Find out how Ph.D. student Matt Stefanak finds the silver lining when fieldwork doesn't go as planned. Read more...
