Knauss legislative fellowships in Congress help build careers — and they're fun and educational. See our video and fact sheet for details.
Current Graduate Fellows
Maryland Sea Grant Research Fellowship
Fellowship at:
Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental ScienceProject Title:
Beyond Point Measurements: Modeling Benthic Forage Response to the Duration, Extent, and Severity of Hypoxia in Chesapeake BayCool Facts:
Allison is a master’s student studying the impacts of oxygen depletion on benthic invertebrates, an important source of forage for consumer organisms in Chesapeake Bay. She enjoys paddleboarding, hiking, and being outside.
Fellowship at:
Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental ScienceProject Title:
Exploring the Use of Benthic Microbial Fuel Cells to Remove Sulfide While Harvesting Energy from Oyster Aquaculture BiodepositsCool Facts:
Michael is researching how to reduce sulfide concentrations near oyster hatcheries with the help of a benthic microbial fuel cell. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer, hiking, running, and cheering on the Michigan Wolverines.
Fellowship at:
Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental ScienceProject Title:
Causes of Benthic Cyanobacteria Overgrowth in Submersed Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) Beds in Chesapeake Bay: Potential Consequences for Ecosystem ResilienceCool Facts:
Shayna is a master’s student in the Marine Estuarine Environmental Science graduate program at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science’s Horn Point Laboratory. She is studying the effects of the benthic filamentous cyanobacteria, Lyngbya, on a large recovering aquatic grass bed on the Susquehanna Flats.
Fellowship at:
Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental ScienceProject Title:
Does Living Shoreline Performance Depend on Design?Cool Facts:
Erika Koontz is a master's student studying the impacts of hardened shoreline structures and living shorelines on submersed aquatic vegetation in the Chesapeake Bay. After the field work and lab work is all done, she enjoys spending her time training for triathlon (swim, bike, run) events, hiking, and cuddling her cat Miley.
Fellowship at:
Appalachian Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental ScienceProject Title:
Evaluating the Effects of Stormwater Best Management Practices on Nitrogen Dynamics Using Stable IsotopesCool Facts:
Grace O’Hara is a master’s student in the Marine Estuarine Environmental Science graduate program. In her free time, she enjoys running, painting, and hiking.NMFS-Sea Grant Joint Fellowships
Fellowship at:
Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental ScienceProject Title:
Evaluating the Performance of Spatially Explicit Population Models to Estimate Abundance of Chesapeake Bay FishesCool Facts:
Samara Nehemiah a Ph.D. student at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. She is developing new statistical methods to estimate spatially explicit population estimates of striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay.Competitive Graduate Research Fellowship
Fellowship at:
Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental ScienceProject Title:
Elucidating Dietary Source and Structure of Three Important Juvenile Fishery Species Across the Chesapeake Bay Mouth Plume Using Bulk Stable Isotope AnalysesCool Facts:
Matt Stefanak is a Ph.D. student at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons, MD studying how estuarine waters that flow out of the Chesapeake Bay affect the biological communities that live in the adjacent coastal habitat. In his free time, he enjoys reading, working out, kayaking, and spending time with his family, friends, and two cats.
Fellowship at:
Johns Hopkins University, Earth and Planetary Sciences DepartmentProject Title:
Analyzing the Effects of Hypoxia on the Microbiome of Atlantic Brief Squid: The Model Organism for Future Global Regime Shifts Due to Expansion of Hypoxic EnvironmentsCool Facts:
Leone Yisrael is a cephalopod-loving scuba diver, cook, and loves to try new activities. She conducts genetic analysis and fieldwork at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center through the Coastal Disease Ecology Lab.Program Announcements
News and Blogs
Featured Fellow
Leone Yisrael is a cephalopod-loving scuba diver, cook, and loves to try new activities. She conducts genetic analysis and fieldwork at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center through the Coastal Disease Ecology Lab.
Featured Research Project
Exploring the Use of Benthic Microbial Fuel Cells to Remove Sulfide While Harvesting Energy from Oyster Aquaculture Biodeposits
Oyster aquaculture is a rapidly growing industry in Maryland’s Chesapeake waters which stimulates economic activity and may provide a host of ecosystem benefits. A potential concern associated with the intensification of the oyster aquaculture is the local production and accumulation of oyster biodeposits, which can lead to a porewater sulfide accumulation and declining bioturbation, symptoms of declining ecosystem function. Sulfide is naturally removed from the seafloor by the interactions between bioturbating infauna and sulfide oxidizing bacteria.
Chesapeake Quarterly Magazine
A Growing Industry: Advancing Oyster Aquaculture in Maryland
