Ocean Currents 9/10/24

Welcome Aboard!

We are excited to welcome three new faculty members this Fall. Starting next week, Assistant Professor Karen Chan will be joining the biological oceanography option, studying the interaction of plankton and their fluid environment. Her office is in OSB 519 (kychan@uw.edu). Welcome also to Will Ballentine (wballen1@uw.edu), a postdoctoral scholar in her group

Also starting next week, Assistant Professor Mo Walczak will be joining the marine geological and geophysical option, studying sediment processes in the paleoceanographic context. Her "landing pad" will be in OSB 507 while she chooses a permanent office among several options. You can reach her by email at mwalczak@uw.edu.

The School also welcomes Acting Assistant Professor Wing-Ho Ko who will be helping teach Ocean 215, perform computing and data science education consulting, and more. His email is wingho@uw.edu.

As is our custom, anyone who takes any one of these new faculty members out for coffee can get reimbursed – please join us in welcoming them to the School!

A Fond Farewell... Thank You Kathy! 

Join us Thursday on the MSB deck from 10 AM-1 PM to say a farewell to Kathy Newell who is retiring after 30+ years of exceptional service to the School of Oceanography. A dedicated student mentor, lab and field experiment logistician and brilliant photographer, what will we do without her many contributions to our community?

And Fair Winds and Following Seas... Thank You Kirk!

Many of you may know him as a building coordinator, but Kirk O'Donnell started his career in 2006 with Charlie Erikson in the Sea Glider Lab. He's been deploying sea gliders for the School for over 18 years and up until the end of his career where he helped establish the Student Sea Glider Center. He continues to volunteer his time to support our students and the School. Thank you for your years of dedication Kirk and happy retirement!

Convocation, Save the Date and Nominate

This year's Oceanography Convocation will be held on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, 4:30-6:30 on the lawn west of the Ocean Science Building. Please save the date and nominate one of your community members for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award or the Mentorship Award here.  The deadline is Friday, September 20.  

Looking for GAMP Mentors 2024?

Hello Ocean Grads! We are officially recruiting grad students to volunteer as mentors for our Graduate Application Mentorship Program (GAMP)!!!

The grad school application process can be a barrier to entry for students without resources and guidance to navigate the process. GAMP was created to connect prospective students with current graduate students to help demystify the graduate application process and provide tips and guidance for submitting an application.

Mentors will be expected to meet with their mentee for three, 45-minute sessions between October 8th and December 1st. We’ll provide equitable mentorship training (+free lunch (: ) and a variety of resources to make sure you have the information you need to succeed.

To volunteer please fill out this form. We use the information to match you with a prospective student. Answer what you want to, skip what you don’t want to.

We already have prospective students enrolled, so we need as many volunteers as possible to keep this program running! If you were matched with a mentee last year that ghosted you… hopefully that is not going to happen again. We are now requiring a confirmation check-in from our mentees before they are matched.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out (sggarcia@uw.edu)

Thanks!!
GAMP Team

Last Week to Apply for the 2024 Leo Cup

The deadline is September 15, 2024, but there is still time to apply, either individually or as a group, for this year's Leo Cup, an annual UW competition for graduate and undergraduate students to follow their passions around the theme of ocean change and to create innovative solutions that address the growing issues of ocean plastics and pollution. Applicants are encouraged to speak to our past winners Georges Kanaan, Iris Kern or Morgan Palmer or to Michelle or Rick, about the application process. The prize is $40,000 toward your research.