We’re happy to announce this year’s Faculty Merit Award winners, given annually to graduating students at all ranks in recognition of exceptional achievement and contributions to the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. This is by far the most prestigious of the many awards conferred by the School to students, where the nominations come directly from SAFS faculty.

Swimming around tropical coral reefs in a colorful array are an ever-changing multitude of fishes, some in schools of hundreds, others in pairs, and ones that prefer their own company. These are the fishes divers see on a heathy coral reef, but they are often only half of the diversity found in the reef’s fishes. The “hidden half” are the cryptobenthic fishes.

We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 SAFS DEIJ and Community Service Recognition Award: Julia Indivero and Claire Vaage.

From microplastics to seabirds, and everything in between, Tetiaroa offers new insights on tropical ecosystems for UW Professors and researchers.

Eric Essington, UW Biology senior, has been working on his independent research project in the Roberts Lab for the past year, looking into a familiar hard-shelled mollusk: the oyster. Why? To simulate temperature changes associated with climate change and explore the impact on Pacific oysters.

Congratulations to Markus Min, the recipient of the 2023-2024 Award for Outstanding Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Accessibility (DEIJA) given by the College of the Environment. Markus, a Ph.D. Candidate in SAFS, has been a trusted leader since joining the school in fall of 2020, and a strong advocate for equity and inclusion at both the unit level and across the College. 

In a lot of ways, deep reefs are understudied. Too deep for divers to reach and only accessible by submarines, this zone of ocean habitat is often overlooked. We spoke to SAFS master’s student, Sarah Yerrace, about her research focused on one thing in particular: lionfish.

According to new research published by SAFS grad student, Giordano Jacuzzi, military aircraft noise from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island presents a substantial risk to public health.

Part of the SAFS PhD program, Chris Mantegna has been named as one of the Husky 100 for 2024. Students are chosen for actively connecting what happens inside and outside of the classroom and applying this learning to make a difference on campus, their communities, and for the future.

The Daily UW features the degrees offered at SAFS, which is centered on the belief that students must experience the environments and species they’re studying.