MIT SEA GRANT NEWS. Lillie Paquette MITSG Sea Grant College Program Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139

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1 MIT SEA GRANT NEWS Lillie Paquette MITSG Sea Grant College Program Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts NOAA Grant No. NA10OAR Project No C/A-4 MIT Sea Grant News, February 2013.

2 4/22/13 MIT Sea Grant News: February 2013 Share: Tweet 0 MIT Sea Grant College Program Newsletter: February 2013 In This Issue Santhiska Pather is the Knauss Fellowship awardee for 2013 National Medals of Science and Technology for MIT researchers with ties to MIT Sea Grant The 2013 Blue Lobster Bowl Applications for OEX now open Investigating Herring - an enigmatic fish and changing fishery MIT Sea Grant shares the Chinese Mitten Crab Grant MIT senior John DiMino assists on SWATH model Visiting student João Seixas de Medeiros assists Brizzolara MIT freshman Andrei Ivanov spearheads MIT Sea Grant's video project FROM THE DIRECTOR It has been an action-packed period at MIT Sea Grant and we are thrilled to share with you some new developments and ongoing progress as we enter our 37th year as a Sea Grant College Program. We begin by introducing our new Assistant Director for Research, as well as MIT Sea Grant's 2013 Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship awardee. We are also proud to report that two MIT Professors, each prior recipients of MIT Sea Grant support, are among this year's recipients of the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. We announce some of our upcoming educational events and programs, and we feature our work on other projects including collaborative research efforts to analyze the social impacts of new regulations for herring fisheries in the Northeast United States. We also share our plans for collaborative work with other regional Sea Grant Programs to address the issue of the nonnative Chinese Mitten Crab in the Gulf of Maine. On behalf of our talented and dedicated team here at MIT Sea Grant, I thank you for your continued interest and support, and I hope you will enjoy reading further details about our work below. Sincerely, Chrys Chryssostomidis Director STEFANO BRIZZOLARA ACCEPTS POSITION AS MIT SEA GRANT'S ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR RESEARCH MIT Sea Grant welcomes University of Genoa's Professor Stefano Brizzolara as Assistant Director for Research. The expert naval architect and renowned ship designer was the Visiting Peabody Associate Professor at MIT's Mechanical Engineering Department for 2012, during which time he also worked with MIT Sea Grant under Office of Naval Research sponsorship. Brizzolara brings special expertise and valuable experience in the innovative use of computational fluid dynamics, which optimally compliments the strategic goals of MIT Sea Grant. One of my .constantcontact.com/mit-sea-grant-news--february-2013.html?soid= &aid=s9tt6ac37kc 1/5

3 4/22/13 MIT Sea Grant News: February 2013 Brizzolara's ONR/MIT Sea Grant projects includes the development of a new generation of autonomous surface vehicles with an innovative hull providing superior hydrodynamic performance at sea to serve as the key element in a network of autonomous underwater vehicles for persistent sensing of large ocean areas. Click here to read more. Stefano Brizzolara Asst. Director of Research MIT Sea Grant MIT SEA GRANT AWARDS THE 2013 DEAN JOHN A. KNAUSS MARINE POLICY FELLOWSHIP TO SANTHISKA PATHER Santhiska Pather Knauss Fellow 2013 Santhiska Pather is MIT Sea Grant's awardee for the 2013 Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship. She will serve as an EPA National Nutrient Criteria Program Fellow in the Office of Water at the US Environmental Protection Agency between March 1, 2013 through February 31, Pather completed a Master of Science in Marine Science and Technology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in September Her thesis examines nitrogen cycling processes in the rocky intertidal, with a particular emphasis on investigating the role of the California mussel Mytilus californianus in nitrogen cycling. Pather's work revealed an unexpected diversity of processes in this environment, indicating the presence of microbial metabolisms previously only encountered in other marine habitats. Click here to read more. RESEARCHERS WITH TIES TO MIT SEA GRANT RECEIVE NATIONAL MEDAL OF SCIENCE AND NATIONAL MEDAL OF TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION MIT Professors Sallie (Penny) Chisholm and Robert Langer are among the 23 recipients awarded the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation for These are the nation's highest honors for scientists, engineers and inventors, and MIT Sea Grant is proud to list the two MIT recipients as former MIT Sea Grant awardees. Chisholm was awarded the MIT Sea Grant- administered Henry L. and Grace Doherty Professorship in Ocean Engineering for her work entitled, Study of Variability among Individuals in Populations of Microalgae and its Role in Algal Dominance and Succession. Langer and his colleagues have received MIT Sea Grant funding over the past two decades for their work on projects that interface with molecular biology Sallie 'Penny' Chisholm (L) and engineering. Click here to read more. and Robert Langer (R) 120 MASSACHUSETTS HIGH SCHOOLERS WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE 16TH ANNUAL BLUE LOBSTER BOWL MIT Sea Grant is hosting the 16th Annual Blue Lobster Bowl at MIT on March 3, This year's competition was originally scheduled for February 9, but due to the historic Blizzard, it was re- scheduled. The event will include up to 120 students from various Massachusetts area high schools who will be split into teams and tested through quick answer buzzer questions and thought- provoking team challenge questions. In addition, MIT Sea Grant research scientists and partners will offer information to students on marine science and ocean engineering careers. The winning team of this bowl will compete against 24 other regional champions in the 16th Annual National Ocean Sciences my .constantcontact.com/mit-sea-grant-news--february-2013.html?soid= &aid=s9tt6ac37kc 2/5

4 4/22/13 MIT Sea Grant News: February 2013 Bowl at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee in April The Blue Lobster Bowl is one of the 25 annual regional competitions that comprise the National Ocean Sciences Bowl. Click here to read more. Students competing in the 2012 BLB at MIT APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN FOR MIT SEA GRANT'S SUMMER OCEAN ENGINEERING EXPERIENCE (OEX) The Ocean Engineering Experience (OEX) summer academic program is a two- week opportunity for students entering 11th or 12th grade. OEX participants gain in- depth experience in the field of ocean engineering through hands- on design and fabrication experiences as they live, study, work, and eat together on the MIT campus, aiming to solve a real world engineering challenge. The program provides students with opportunities to explore engineering and marine science as a possible career choice. Instruction is provided by MIT students, research staff and faculty with experience in robotics, ocean engineering, mechanical engineering and other related expertise. Program size is limited to a maximum of OEX participants test students. Watch the video from last year's OEX! projects in an MIT Lab INVESTIGATING HERRING - AN ENIGMATIC FISH AND CHANGING FISHERY MIT Sea Grant College Program is leading a collaborative research effort to analyze the social impacts of changes in the regulation of the commercial fisheries for herring in the northeast United States. Herring is a variable, but valuable species that serves as bait for lobsters and tuna, forage for whales and a variety of commercial fish species, as well as zoo feed and food for humans around the world. The effort supports balanced management and of those who rely on herring, including commercial and recreational fishermen, other businesses, and marine mammals. THE CHINESE MITTEN CRAB GRANT AWARDED JOINTLY TO THE SEA GRANT COLLEGE PROGRAMS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, MAINE, AND MIT Chinese mitten crabs (Eriocheir sinensis) are valued as food in Asian markets, but are unwelcome non- native species in the U.S. where they negatively impact native communities, fisheries, power plant intakes and riverbanks causing economic damage. The presence of the Chinese mitten crab has been reported in the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, Hudson, and Connecticut River. The Sea Grant programs of New Hampshire, Maine, and MIT plan to develop a regional early detection network that will focus on protecting the riverine, estuarine, intertidal, and near shore marine ecosystems of the Gulf of Maine from the identified threats posed by Chinese mitten crabs. For more information or to report a sighting, contact MIT Sea Grant's invasive species specialist, Judith Pederson. MIT SENIOR JOHN DIMINO WORKS WITH MIT SEA GRANT SHIP DESIGN EXPERT ON MODEL my .constantcontact.com/mit-sea-grant-news--february-2013.html?soid= &aid=s9tt6ac37kc 3/5

5 4/22/13 MIT Sea Grant News: February 2013 SWATH John DiMino John DiMino is an MIT senior student in Mechanical and Ocean Engineering conducting research at MIT Sea Grant under the mentorship of Professor Stefano Brizzolara. Together, they are working on the construction a 1/6th scale model of a SWATH (small water- plane area, twin hull) USV (unmanned surface vehicle) that will be tested in the MIT towing tank in the spring. DiMino's prior research focused on marine robotics, and he interned for two summers with the Office of Naval Research in Newport, RI and West Bethesda, MD. He graduates in June and plans to gain professional experience in the defense industry before returning to graduate school. VISITING STUDENT FROM BRAZIL ASSISTS MIT SEA GRANT RESEARCH WITH SEAKEEPING CODE USING POTENTIAL THEORY João Seixas de Medeiros is a visiting undergraduate student from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He is spending the academic year studying at MIT under the sponsorship of Brazil's National Council of Scientific and Technological Development. Seixas is currently working as an intern at MIT Sea Grant where he is assists Professor Stefano Brizzolara in his research with a seakeeping code using potential theory. He will return to Brazil in August to finish his undergraduate studies, and hopes to return to MIT in the future to pursue a graduate degree. João Seixas MIT FRESHMAN FROM MOLDOVA IS MIT SEA GRANT'S SPECIAL VIDEO PERSON Andrei Ivanov Andrei Ivanov began his career as a freshman at MIT in the fall of 2012 majoring in computer science and applied mathematics. He is was a competitor in the International Mathematical Olympiad four years throughout his high school career, as well as a participant in regional computer science Olympiads. In addition to his mathematical and computational genius, Ivanov is an accomplished videographer and film editor who has been working with MIT Sea Grant's communications specialist, Lillie Paquette, in recent months to produce feature Internet videos about MIT Sea Grant's people and projects. Check out some of the videos on our newly refurbished YouTube page. Like us on Facebook! Confirm that you like this. my .constantcontact.com/mit-sea-grant-news--february-2013.html?soid= &aid=s9tt6ac37kc 4/5

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