New Hampshire Sea Grant is pleased to announce that University of New Hampshire (UNH) graduate student Jesse Ross has been named a finalist for the 2020 class of the National Sea Grant College Program’s prestigious John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship.
The Knauss Fellowship, now in its 40th year, honors John A. Knauss, a founder of the National Sea Grant College Program, who formerly served as a NOAA administrator and dean of the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography. Since 1979, over 1,300 early-career professionals have participated in this year-long paid fellowship that matches highly qualified graduate students with host offices in the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government in Washington, D.C. Fellows work on national policy issues affecting ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources.
Jesse will be completing his master’s degree from UNH’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering this fall. He received his bachelor’s in environmental engineering with a minor in philosophy from UNH, and is originally from Gilford, N.H. While at UNH, Jesse has been involved in the Coastal Response Research Center, led by Professor Nancy Kinner, who is co-advising Jesse's master's research along with Kai Ziervogel, research assistant professor in UNH's Ocean Process Analysis Laboratory. Jesse's thesis focuses on the biological transport of oil and his interests center around the convergence of science and resource management. This summer, Jesse has been conducting fieldwork in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, funded by the Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council and NOAA.
Jesse joins a cohort of 69 finalists in the 2020 Knauss class, representing 27 of 34 Sea Grant programs. Knauss finalists are chosen through a competitive process that includes several rounds of review at both the state Sea Grant program and national levels. Students finishing Masters (M.S.), Juris Doctor (J.D.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees with a focus and/or interest in marine science, policy or management apply to their state’s Sea Grant programs. If applicants are successful at the state level, their applications are then forwarded to a national panel of experts who select the finalists. This fall, the 2020 finalists will travel to Washington, D.C. to interview with potential executive or legislative host offices. Following placement, they will begin their fellowship in February 2020.
Read the official NOAA Sea Grant announcement: Sea Grant Announces 2020 Finalists for the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program
