Nina Santos is a Ph.D. student at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. For her dissertation, she is focused on small shrimp-like crustaceans called mysids – an understudied yet important part of many estuarine and coastal food webs.
Fellowship Experiences
A blog by and about students supported by Maryland Sea Grant

Photo, Debbie Hinkle
My Year Building Adaptation and Resilience in the Climate Program Office
Casey Willson •
In NOAA’s Climate Program Office, the words adaptation and resilience are our bread and butter. Across a robust network of programs and partnerships, the office transitions cutting-edge research into real solutions that help communities understand, predict, and prepare for changing conditions. Read more...
Tiny Powerhouses Shaping Our Future
Abdulmajid Alrefaie •
Without photosynthetic microbes, Earth’s atmosphere might never have become breathable. These organisms helped shape life as we know it. Today, they’re working in the background of our modern bioeconomy. Read more...
Lessons from Hawai‘i and California on the Future of BlueTech
Abdulmajid Alrefaie •
Some trips change how you see a place; others change how you see the world. Our fact-finding trip to the Aloha State did both. I was invited to join a congressional delegation to understand how science, culture, and climate adaptation intersect to shape ocean policy. Read more...
My Experience on a Shark Research Cruise
Aiman Raza •
Knauss fellow Aiman Raza recounts her time volunteering aboard a research vessel for NOAA's Southeast Fishery Science Center’s annual shark and red snapper bottom longline survey. Read more...
For the Farmer in Nebraska and the Lonely Buoy in the Middle of the Ocean
Isabel Butler Viruet •
When I started my Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, I found myself fixated on a single, somewhat specific question: How can we convince a farmer in Nebraska to care about a buoy floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? Read more...