This summer, due to demand from student applicants, BIOS offered two sessions of its Coral Reef Ecology (CRE) course, one that ran from June 28 to July 16 with 13 students, and the other that ran from August 9 to August 27 with 17 students. The courses were co-taught by reef systems ecologist Eric Hochberg and marine benthic ecologist Yvonne Sawall, with teaching assistant (TA) Michael Wooster. Wooster was Hochberg’s National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates intern in 2014 and has been a TA for three BIOS summer courses and three fall semester courses.
In late August, nine undergraduate students from schools across the United States, including Puerto Rico, arrived at BIOS for the 2021 National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) internship program. This annual program, which runs for 12 weeks every fall, pairs undergraduate students with BIOS faculty and research staff for independent research projects in a variety of topics in the marine and atmospheric sciences.
A new painting graces the walls of the BIOS reception building commemorating friendships formed during the Institute’s 2019 National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) internship and fall semester program. Commissioned by REU intern Harvey Castillo, then a biology major at Northern Arizona University (U.S.), and painted by visual artist Claudia Palacios, the piece reproduces a photograph of Castillo and fellow students watching a sunset from the dock at the BIOS waterfront.
In a major development in the bid to deepen the understanding of the role that the ocean plays in climate science, Arizona State University (ASU) President Michael Crow announced today that ASU, a leading research university, has established a partnership with the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS), one of the longest-serving research institutes dedicated to studying ocean processes in the Western Hemisphere.
BIOS senior scientist and director of research Nick Bates boosted his research portfolio earlier this month when he received news of three funding renewals for long-term ocean-monitoring programs at BIOS.
In late January and early February, BIOS education and scientific staff presented two half-days of interactive educational content for 11 young Bermudians as part of an annual collaboration with the Endeavour Maritime Career Springboard Programme. The programme is an intensive, experiential training program for Bermudians ages 16 and older who are interested in working in the maritime industry, which includes careers as diverse as sailing instructors, ferry conductors, shipping and logistics managers, and port operators.
Molecular biologist Julius Barsi hosted three student interns from Bermuda, Canada, and the Netherlands this summer for an introduction to systems biology. Their research, on purple sea urchin embryos, focused on differential gene expression analysis, the mechanism by which cells become specialized to conduct a specific “job” for the organism.
During the last two years, a team of researchers and technicians from BIOS have worked diligently alongside crew of the BIOS-operated research vessel Atlantic Explorer to maintain near-continued operations throughout the pandemic.
The Oceanic Flux Program (OFP), one of the world’s longest-running time-series, has received continued funding to help the oceanographic community answer ongoing questions about the connections between climate and the particle debris that sinks through the ocean’s water column. This process, called the particle flux, is a major control on the global carbon cycle and provides the fuel to support most biological processes operating within the ocean’s deep interior.
The Bermuda Program is part of a suite of five progressive education programs at BIOS known collectively as Ocean Academy. Considered the “capstone” activity for students in Ocean Academy, the Bermuda Program—now in its 45th year—offers opportunities for Bermudian students, ages 18 and older, to participate in intensive internships in the marine and atmospheric sciences alongside faculty and research staff at the Institute.