Sophia Ahn was selected by the Horn Point Laboratory’s Education Committee to be the 7th recipient of the Ryan Saba Memorial Student Fellowship. This award was established by his family and friends to honor and remember Ryan Saba who was a research assistant at the Horn Point Laboratory beginning in the fall of 2013. Ryan tragically died in an automobile accident near the campus on July 13, 2014. He was well regarded by the Horn Point community as a friend and colleague.
His family and friends hope that Ryan may be remembered as an example of the potential that can be realized when boundless curiosity about nature and life and a zest for making each day better than yesterday are applied to one’s passion for science.
Ahn’s studies focus on harmful algal blooms (HAB’s) and the devastating effects they have on environments, economies, and human health. The overall goal of her research is to improve predictive models of blooms for the harmful algae, Karenia, in the Gulf of Mexico and Chesapeake Bay. Ahn will apply her fellowship award towards attending a training course on identifying HAB species. The course will be held this summer at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences Research and Education, Maine.
Past fellows include HPL graudates: Jake Goodwin ‘15, Jacqueline Tay ‘16, Michelle Lin ’17, Melanie Jackson ’18, Anna Windle ’19 and Pinky Liau ’20.
The Ryan Saba Memorial Student Fund is intended to honor Ryan by supporting a Horn Point Laboratory student in the pursuit of his or her professional goals and dreams in the field of environmental science. It provides a fellowship grant on an annual basis. The award this year is $2,500.
