Three major NOAA-relevant professional scientific conferences are held annually between December and the end of February. These conferences present an excellent opportunity for Scholars to learn from professionals in their field, get feedback on their research, and network. As part of the Hollings Scholarship Program, Scholars can apply for funding to present their research at up to two US scientific conferences. This year, a record number of Hollings Undergraduate Scholars took advantage of the opportunity to present the research they conducted during their summer internship with NOAA.
Srishti Dasarathy’s poster at the ASLO Ocean Sciences Meeting. Srishti is a Hollings Scholar from the University of North Carolina. (Photo Credit: Srishti Dasarathy) (Image credit: Srishti Dasarathy)
The American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting is the largest Earth and space science meeting in the world, with over 20,000 participants. AGU was held in San Francisco, CA, from December 14-18th, 2015. Twenty-two Hollings Scholars presented their research this year, and numerous Hollings alumni also participated.
From January 10th -14th, 2016, the 96th annual American Meteorological Society (AMS) Meeting was held at the Ernest M. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, LA. The AMS Annual Meeting is the world’s largest conference on weather, water and climate. This year, the conference brought together 3,780 professionals and 800 students. Twenty-one Hollings Scholars presented their research at AMS, including Eric McCormick (Meteorology major; University of Oklahoma) and Joseph Lilek (Atmospheric Science major; University of Kansas). Eric McCormick presented a poster about the integration of social media into severe weather operations and Joseph Lilek presented on pioneering pathways for audience engagement with Science on a Sphere (pictured). An informal alumni dinner was also organized as a networking session for Hollings Scholars who interned with NOAA in Norman, Oklahoma.
The ASLO Ocean Sciences Meeting was also held at the Ernest M. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, from February 21-26th, 2016. The annual meeting is cosponsored by the American Geophysical Union, the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), and The Oceanographic Society, and attracts thousands of marine scientists and students from around the world.
Ten Hollings Scholars presented their research at the 2016 ASLO Ocean Sciences Meeting. Hollings Scholar Julia Maine, an Earth and Oceanographic Sciences major from Bowdoin College, gave an oral presentation on the effect of ocean acidification on the food quality of a coccolithophore. Valerie Rennoll, a Physics major at American University, presented her poster on data mining to chart the Arctic (pictured), while Thea Bartlett, a Hollings Scholar studying Marine Science at Eckerd College, presented her poster entitled, “A Spatial Analysis of Calcium Carbonate Accretion Rates on South Pacific Reefs” (pictured).
I was amazed at the number of marine scientists in one place and thought the amount of research being undertaken to explore our oceans was incredible.
Srishti Dasarathy, a Holling Scholar studying Marine Science at the University of North Carolina, presented a poster on the integration of oceanographic data with fin whale calling presence in the Bering Sea. Srishti said of her experience at the meeting, "The ASLO Ocean Sciences Meeting was actually my first poster presentation, and I enjoyed being able to communicate with other researchers and attendees on a one-on-one level, which is difficult to achieve with an oral presentation. I was amazed at the number of marine scientists in one place and thought the amount of research being undertaken to explore our oceans was incredible."
Scientific conferences afford the Scholars the opportunity to expand their knowledge and share their research findings with leaders in their field. Many scholars also connect with potential graduate school advisors and employers.
