Alan Williams

As a Mechanical Engineering Undergrad at the University of Arizona, I often questioned myself on what future was possible with the knowledge and skills I was developing. Would I be driven into defense technology development? Or perhaps I would lean more towards automotive design? I did not gain focus on my career until I joined the Marine Awareness and Conservation Society, a club at the U of A, which established my passion for the research and care of marine life around the world. Shortly after, I decided to pick up a minor in Marine Science, with a focus on oceanography and aquaculture. During this time, I was able to take my first steps in my marine science academia by taking part in the Maryland Sea Grant REU during the summer of 2019. There I assisted Drs Dong Liang and Chris Rowe on their diamondback terrapin research project, working both on the field by searching for female terps and at CBL campus by developing an algorithm to predict terrapin nest temperatures for future summers. I also presented this research via poster during the Ocean Sciences 2020 conference. After obtaining my B. S. in ME from the U of A, I now find myself as part of the MEES program working with Dr. Matt Gray and crew in the Shellfish Aquaculture Innovation Laboratory to further improve quality, efficiency, and sustainability of oyster aquaculture in the Chesapeake Bay.

After several years at Horn Point Lab, I now find myself as a PhD Candidate in Earth and Ocean Sciences. My research topic involves the unique application of remote operated vehicles to monitor conditions within on-bottom oyster lease environements and improve recruitment of oyster larvae through sediment-based shell fouling removal and percision planting of pediveliger staged oysters.