UMCES celebrates fifth annual commencement ceremony May 15

May 16, 2018

CAMBRIDGE, MD (May 16, 2016)—The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES)’s fifth annual Commencement ceremony was held at its Horn Point Laboratory campus in Cambridge, Maryland, and featured Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet, Ph.D., USN Ret., Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, as keynote speaker.

“Become a policy maker and decision maker. Get in there and learn how to do that and speak that language. Understand how decision-making occurs,” said RDML Tim Gallaudet. “You can be that flickering candle or a solar bright star. My charge to you is to be that solar bright sun.”

USM Student Regent William "Will" Shorter, Jr. UMCES President Peter Goodwin, keynote speaker RMDL Tim Gallaudent, and Vice Chancellor Joann Boughman

UMCES is a preeminent environmental research and educational institution that leads the way toward better management of Maryland’s natural resources and the protection and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay from a network of laboratories across the state.

“You are about to join a unique cadre of scientists that make a significant contribution to fundamental discoveries about the environment—whether for sustainability, preservation, recovery or providing deeper insights and understanding to our natural world,” University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science President Peter Goodwin in his official charge to the graduating students. “Use the power of science to help society better understand and manage the environment. 

Every year, more than 80 graduate students study and work alongside UMCES scientists and faculty members through the Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences (MEES) Program, a nationally eminent interdisciplinary graduate program. Students go on to careers in academia, state and federal government, industry and non-governmental organizations.

William "Will" Shorter. Jr., Student Regent, brought greetings from the USM Board of Regents. “Your knowledge will serve as a splendid torch to solve the world’s greatest problems,” he said.

Eight students received joint degrees from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) and the University of Maryland College Park (UMD) at the ceremony.

“Your research is critical to the sustainability and success of our planet,” said Joann Boughman, Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, University System of Maryland.

"You are about to join a unique cadre of scientists that make a significant contribution to fundamental discoveries about the environment." 2018 UMCES graduates and their faculty mentors

The following students received joint degrees during the commencement ceremony:

Hillary Lane Glandon, Ph.D., Fisheries
Organismal and population level effects of climate change on juvenile blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) in the Patuxent River, Chesapeake Bay

Agraj Khare, M.S., Chemistry
The potential impact of variation in seawater strontium to calcium ratio on coral paleothermometry in the Florida Keys, USA

Emily Liljestrand, M.S., Fisheries
Mortality and movement of adult Atlantic menhaden during 1966-1969 estimated from mark-recapture models

Chih-Hsien Lin, Ph.D., Oceanography
Harmful algae in Chesapeake Bay: A study focused on Karlodinium veneficum applying time series, physiological, and modeling approaches

Erin Markin, Ph.D., Fisheries
Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus growth responses to dual seasonal spawning, latitudinal thermal regimes, and Chesapeake Bay environmental stressors

­­ Christopher Paver, M.S., Oceanography
Sampling errors arising from entrainment and insufficient flushing of oceanographic sampling bottles  

Fan Zhang, Ph.D., Oceanography
Response of the coastal ocean and estuaries to tropical cyclones

Click HERE for a complete list of 2017-2018 graduates.

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science leads the way toward better management of Maryland’s natural resources and the protection and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. From a network of laboratories located across the state, UMCES scientists provide sound advice to help state and national leaders manage the environment, and prepare future scientists to meet the global challenges of the 21st century. www.umces.edu

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