Commencement 2024
The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
commencement ceremony
Friday, May 30, 2024, 1 p.m.
Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology
Baltimore, Maryland
Featuring the conferral of master's and doctorate degrees,
distinguished speakers and university awards, and a keynote speaker:
Rick Spinrad, Ph.D.
Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere
and NOAA Administrator
Transcript of Ceremony (opens in new window):
UMCES Commencement Transcript 2024
Timed captions with video (opens in new window):
PROGRAM
AWARDS
UMCES Staff Excellence Award
Cami Martin, Coordinator, Appalachian Laboratory
Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award
Dr. Yantao Li, Associate Professor, Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology
UMCES Student Service Award
Cheslea Fowler, Graduate Student, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory
President’s Award for Outstanding Research Support
Alexandra Fries, Program Manager, Integration and Application Network
President’s Award for Excellence in Application of Science
Dr. Yantao Li, Associate Professor, Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology
2023-2024 GRADUATES
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
So Hyun Ahn
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences/Earth and Ocean Systems
Advisor: Dr. Patricia Glibert, Horn Point Laboratory
Interactions between nitrogen and temperature on the metabolism of the red tide mixotrophic dinoflagellate Karenia spp.
in support of predictive models: Implications for bloom dynamics on the West Florida Shelf
Taylor Armstrong
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences/Environmental Molecular Biology and Biotechnology
Advisor: Dr. Allen Place, Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology
Impact of plant-derived allelochemicals on harmful algal blooms
Paulina Huanca Valenzuela
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences/Earth and Ocean Systems
Advisor: Dr. Clara Fuchsman, Horn Point Laboratory
Nitrogen, microbes, particles, and oxygen deficient zones
Carol Kim
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences/Earth and Ocean Systems
Advisor: Dr. Sairah Malkin, Horn Point Laboratory
Microbial communities in coastal ecosystems
Keota Silaphone
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences/Environmental Science
Advisor: Dr. Thomas Fisher, Horn Point Laboratory
Dual water quality responses after more than 30 years of agricultural management practices in the
rural headwaters of the Choptank River basin in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
MASTER OF SCIENCE
William Atkinson
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences/Earth and Ocean Systems
Advisor: Dr. Victoria Coles, Horn Point Laboratory
Mesoscale eddies influence zooplankton distribution and grazing in the Gulf of Mexico
Grace Avalos
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences/Ecological Systems
Advisor: Dr. Rodney Richardson, Appalachian Laboratory
Refining metagenetic environmental DNA techniques for sensitive bee community monitoring
Imani Black
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences/Environment and Society
Advisors: Dr. Matthew Gray, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and Dr. Jen Shaffer, University of Maryland
Unveiling the legacy of African-American watermen in Chesapeake Bay commercial fisheries:
Preserving cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and future participation through a social-ecological systems perspective
Chelsea Fowler
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences/Ecological Systems
Advisor: Dr. Louis Plough, Horn Point Laboratory
Investigating the utility of environmental DNA analysis for the monitoring and management of Mid-Atlantic alosine fishes
Meghna Mathews
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences/Environment and Society
Advisor: Dr. Xin Zhang, Appalachian Laboratory
The role of urban agriculture in Baltimore food systems
Laura Wiltsee
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences/Ecological Systems
Advisor: Dr. Matthew Gray, Horn Point Laboratory
Determining feeding rates in Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) using natural seston flow-through system
We congratulate the following graduates
who were unable to participate in today’s ceremony:
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Kohma Arai
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences/Ecological Systems
Dr. David Secor, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory
The role of Connectivity and spatial structure on the population dynamics of marine fishes
Benjamin Colbert
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences/Ecological Systems
Advisor: Dr. Helen Bailey, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory and Dr. Arthur Popper, University of Maryland
Fish bioacoustics: From basic science to policy
Renjian Li
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences/Earth and Ocean Systems
Advisor: Dr. Ming Li, Horn Point Laboratory
Nonlinear internal waves and short-term variability of carbon system in coastal plain estuary
Iacopo Vona
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences/Earth and Ocean Systems
Advisor: William Nardin, Horn Point Laboratory
Oysters’ integration on submerged breakwaters as nature-based solution for coastal protection within estuarine environments
MASTER OF SCIENCE
Allyson Kido
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences/Environmental, Molecular Science and Technology
Advisor: Eric Schott, Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology
Phytoplankton-removal ecosystem services of a native mussel in an urban estuary
Danielle Quill
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences/Ecological Systems
Advisor: Dr. Ryan Woodland, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory
Spatiotemporal distribution of Chesapeake Bay mysids in the Choptank and Patuxent Rivers, Maryland
Kaitlynn Wade
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences/Earth and Ocean Systems
Advisor: Dr. Michael Wilberg, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory
Effects of environmental variables and changes in seasonal patterns on spatial distributions of Jonah crabs (Cancer borealis)
and Atlantic rock crabs (Cancer irroratus) in Georges Bank and the Mid-Atlantic Bight, USA