The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science congratulates the recipients of the 2014 Presidential Fellowships. The merit-based fellowships support incoming Ph.D. students and are designed to support recruitment of outstanding students into UMCES graduate programs. Students receive up to three years stipend, health benefits, and tuition.
Click here to apply for a 2017 Presidential Fellowship.
ANDY GOUGHERTY
Hometown: Grosse Ile, Michigan
Advisor: Matt Fitzpatrick, Associate Professor, Appalachian Laboratory
Research area: “I’m studying how intraspecific variation—the biological variability of individuals within a species—within balsam popular will impact how it will be affected by climate change. For instance, within a species there might be some populations that are more adapted for warmer or cooler temperatures. Those with an affinity for warmer temperatures, for instance, may be more suited to future climates than those adapted for cooler temperatures.”
Why it makes a difference: “Climate change is going to have a variety of effects on the environment – some changes more intuitive than others. Intra-specific variation is likely to play an important role in how a species is able to cope with climate change over the long term. Developing a way to assess how intra-specific variation is related to current climates can give us insight into how the species may be affected by future climates.”
Future plans: “I’d like to stay in academia and pursue a research position when I’m finished here.”
Why UMCES?: “The project I’m working on is very interdisciplinary, so having the opportunity to work with a variety of people in different fields is very compelling. The spatial modeling component of the project and the opportunity to work with Matt Fitzpatrick and other faculty at the Appalachian Lab made the project seem like a very good fit.”
WENFEI NI
Hometown: Capital city Jinan of Shandong Province, Eastern China.
Advisor: Ming Li, professor, Horn Point Laboratory
Research area: “I am studying physical oceanography. My research mainly focuses on the impact of physical process on the biogeochemical cycling in estuarine areas. I will use and improve a coupled numerical model to simulate how climate change (in wind, storm, river discharge, nutrient input) influences the estuarine water quality.
Why it makes a difference: “Climate change has been a non-ignorable and significant fact that is closely bound up with our daily lives. It is not only about getting warmer but also causes complicated environmental change within the whole earth system. The subsistence of estuarine ecosystem rests upon the water quality environment, which is able to provide abundant seafood resources. Thus, using coupled numerical model to quantify the water quality variation with response to the changing climate is helpful for the evaluation and management of estuarine ecosystem.”
Future plans: “I hope I will continue my study and finally become an expert in my research area.”
Why UMCES?: “UMCES is one of the world’s premier institute in the environmental research on estuarine/coastal oceans and their watershed, which values the interdisciplinary study regarding the environmental science. I think it is important to treat the earth system as a whole, not split up mechanically the physical, geological, chemical processes. Also, the researchers of UMCES are outstanding in their fields and keep at the cutting edge of study.”
