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January 2006 |
a
college of marine science and marine biology |
Come Explore! |
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Corning School of Ocean Studies |
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Welcome
to the latest newsletter of
the Corning School
of Ocean Studies. Thanks for your interest in us, and our two majors:
Marine Biology
and Marine Science.
You were featured in
our last newsletter.
I asked you then to imagine yourself as a
college student with a passion for the oceans and marine
life. I ask you now to imagine how being that
student could lead to a great career.
The
second richest person in the world, a self-made
multi-billionaire, recently said about choosing a career path:
"The one piece of advice I can
give you is, do what turns you on. Do something that
if you had all the money in the world, you'd still be doing
it."
I can't agree more! My
work as a marine biologist enriches me daily, in many ways.
And I've never had a second
thought about choosing science. Whether I'm behind the
microscope, doing a protein assay, investigating fish
physiology in our aquaria, catching sculpin on our vessel
Friendship, diving on a coral reef in the
Philippines, or meeting scientists from all over the world, it's all fascinating and rewarding.
Can you imagine where
your interests in science could lead?
You have so many
possibilities, I can't list them all! Our students
have become marine mammal observers, ocean explorers,
laboratory and field scientists, high school teachers, water
chemists and much more! Deb Smith, a graduate of
our program, discusses her career
below. Our
website profiles several more career paths.
Suppose you don't know what
career you want? That's OK too, college is about
finding and pursuing new interests! You'll be amazed
at what you learn on the way.
I invite you to find out more
– and to see how a Marine Biology or Marine Science major
may be right for you – by
visiting. Or
write me any time!
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We typically feature our most recent news in this
spot.
This time of year, what could be better than
news about a trip to the tropics?
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Eleven Corning School
students and two faculty spent semester break at the
Caribbean Marine Research Center in the Bahamas as part
of our Tropical Marine Science course. During the
10-day course, students learned about tropical marine
environments and biodiversity. The local plants and
animals of Lee Stocking Island were featured in field work,
lectures, labs and projects; some topics students
investigated first-hand:
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territorial and feeding
behavior of damselfish |
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fish diversity and censuses of
local reefs |
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plant and animal associations
in mangrove forests and turtle grass beds |
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symbiotic relationships
between jellyfish and intracellular algae |
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Working on
a field assignment!
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Was it all
work
and no play?
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Katie
Denham '06 preps for a fish census
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Of course, any
trip to a tropical paradise cannot be all work! Students
enjoyed bicycling around the island to secluded beaches
for rest and relaxation after morning field work.
Dr. Ann
Cleveland led an “exhilarating” climb to the summit
of Mount Perry – at a mere 123 feet above sea level, it is the
highest point in the Exuma Chain. After the hike,
Dr. Alan
Verde showed everyone how to choose a ripe coconut,
which they then broke open and devoured. One field
trip reached the beach of Iguana Cay where an
endangered Bahamian iguana has its own biological
reserve. Students got up close and personal with the iguanas as
they scurried among legs and backpacks. New Year’s Eve was
celebrated in grand fashion by jumping off the dock into
warm tropical water at the strike of midnight.
A quick glance
at students as they boarded the plane to come home,
suntanned and full of new knowledge, made it clear the trip
a success!
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Are you a blog reader? Emily, our resident blogger, is just
a click
away (and you can instant message her anytime about chosing a
college and a major).
Emily Milinazzo
(Marine Biology '06, and recently returned from Lee Stocking
Island, Bahamas) plans to blog her way to graduation this May.
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At an Open
House, you'll tour some of our vessels
(above).
Can't come to an open
house?
Feel free to visit our
classes and labs another time (below). |
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Nothing beats a campus visit to learn about a college!
Visit Maine
Maritime to learn about our programs, see our facilities and
experience what makes Maine Maritime special. Learn
about programs, meet students, faculty, and coaches. Hear
about financial aid, sports programs, majors and minors, the
application process, and more.
Call (1-800 464-6565 in Maine;
1-800 227-8465 out of state) or
contact Admissions for more info.
If you can't make this date, we're
still glad to meet you, arrange a tour, and provide accommodations
another time.
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| Corning School courses often
require work outside of class -- and that includes on the
water! We featured several field projects in the last
newsletter; here's an update on one. |
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- Students in OS101 - Introduction to Marine Science,
and OS499 - Fieldwork in Penobscot Bay, took part on two
cruises last October in the Penobscot estuary. OS499
students helped first year students in OS101 with their
cruise projects in return for sampling help. The
cruise projects in turn provided data (salinity,
temperature, light, nutrients, oxygen, chlorophyll, pH and
suspended solids) needed to interpret the OS499 results.
These data and those from previous cruises are
part of a water quality data set maintained by
Prof.
Joceline Boucher.
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Chemistry and Marine
Science students collaborate on a cruise (above).
Morgan Miller (Marine Biology '09) helps
Heather Whitaker and Valérie Robitaille (both
Marine Science '07) filter water samples for a study of
chemical exchanges on particles
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What was learned? The
most interesting results show close correspondence between
particles in the water and phosphorus, a
seawater nutrient. The top graph (left) shows very
muddy water (red) deep in the middle of the North-South
cruise transect. High phosphorus concentrations
(orange) were
also found there, as much as 30 times more than typical
levels. Valérie
(above) will investigate this further for her senior
research.
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What makes this possible?
Our students' "can do" attitude, a large array of professional
equipment and facilities, and faculty interest in learning
beyond the classroom. |
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What makes this different?
Classrooms so close to the shore, some with running seawater
and aquaria, just aren't available at most colleges.
Will you be involved? Absolutely! From fun
introductory labs on the water in your first classes, to
challenging, advanced projects in your upper level courses,
you will be involved! |
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Maine Maritime hosted the Northeast Maine First
Lego League Tournament on November 19, 2005. Thirteen teams arrived
with robots in-hand for the Ocean
Odyssey challenge. The robots were designed, built and programmed
to solve oceanographic problems. Tasks were set up, in miniature, on
large tables and robots had to move structures, complete pipelines and
manipulate objects. Making these tasks especially difficult was the
fact that the robots were not radio controlled. Robots were outfitted
with sensors, programmed, and turned on at the "beach". After that it
was strictly hands-off. It was a fun and exciting day, right up to the
cliff-hanger finals in the robotic competition. Awards were handed out
for excellence in several categories, and four teams were selected to
progress to the next round of the competition, in Portland, Maine.
The Corning School's
Dr. Lauren Sahl, who helped
judged the event, "hope(s) it inspires students to consider careers in
science. Future oceanographers will rely increasingly on remotely
operated vehicles to study the marine environment."
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| Jeremy Shambaugh
(Marine Science '05) and Alex Armstrong (Marine Systems
Engineering '06) stand alongside the Corning School's own
underwater robot. |
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Image used with permission of
the First Lego League |
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Did you know... that marine
science (and its parent, geoscience) was singled out by Yahoo as
one of the
25 best job
areas for 2005? That marine biology graduates find jobs
in many industries? That marine scientists choose work in a variety
of workplaces – ranging from mostly all indoors to
mostly all outdoors?
In this series, we explore
the familiar and not-so-familiar career paths our graduates take.
Deborah Smith, Marine Science '02, is a marine scientist based in
Newport, Rhode Island. At Maine Maritime, Deb took advantage of
internships on research vessels (through the
Marine Technology Education
Center) and did a field and lab based senior project.
Where do you work? What is your
job title?
SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation). Marine
scientist-hydrographer.
What are your responsibilities?
Field hydrography, data management, and data processing.
Hydrography involves mapping the seafloor.
What is the purpose of your work?
It depends on the customer; our work for NOAA
(the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) is used
primarily to update nautical charts. We have done survey work for
universities doing various research and investigations. We have done
searches for planes and lost equipment. We collect the data and process
them to customer specifications. Most recently we were contracted to
survey the Mississippi River just after Hurricane Katrina so that
commercial and military vessels could travel up the river.
Have you had other assignments?
I have worked for SAIC since graduating from
Maine Maritime and have done mostly hydrographic survey work. I
did participate in some GIS (Geographic Information Systems) work and
have worked on software testing of SAIC’s survey software.
What is your favorite part of the job?
I love going to sea and working on boats.
So any part of the job that takes me offshore is great!
Your least favorite?
Sitting in front of a computer for 12 hours a day!
Any advice to new students?
Figure out what you really are interested in and
learn as much about it as you can. Talk to people who have jobs in the
field you are looking at and find out what qualifications you need to
begin. Start to do this early (while you are still in college) will help
you find out what you need to learn before you try and apply.
Anything else?
Remember you won’t always find your dream job
right away, but hard work and determination will get you there someday.
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Deb, left, recently visited the
Corning School to speak about her work and career possibilities in
hydrography.
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For more on Marine
Science and Marine Biology at Maine Maritime, visit our departmental website. For
more on Maine Maritime, visit our campus website
For information
about items reported in this newsletter, contact the Corning School's
Professor Joceline Boucher.
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As always, visit MMA any time of year. Please note our upcoming
on-campus open houses and our regional fair visits to your area. Contact us if you have any
questions!
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