Skip to main content Scroll Top

General blog

A black-clad woman poses on a lawn by a metal UN structure, with flags from many countries on flagpoles stretch out into the distance

Advancing sustainable solutions for a resilient planet: Key takeaways from UNEA-7

by Julia Wente As part of my 2025 Knauss Fellowship year with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Ecological Services Program, I had the opportunity to attend the seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) in Nairobi, Kenya ...
Tall instruments on a shoreline are being checked by a semi-silouhetted figure with a post-sunset sky behind

Field notes from Palau: Measuring elevation to turn flood stories into actionable indicators

by Paula MoehlenkampCoastal flooding in Palau is already affecting daily life - overtopping roads, disrupting access, and threatening critical and culturally significant places. A partnership between the Pacific Research on Island Solutions for Adaptation (Pacific RISA) program, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant, ...
Three suited figures pose on a stage in front of a 2025 Sea Grant Week sign, in English and Korean, holding hand-sized yellow medallions.

Supporting International Collaborations between U.S. and Korea Sea Grant: Reflections from a Hawaiʻi Sea Grant Fellow

by Ashley ClarkIn January 2026, I recently completed the year-long Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program assigned to NOAA’s Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Office of International Activities (OAR/IA). There, I served as the lead on NOAA Sea ...
A New Crossroads in Historic Samarkand: Shaping the Future for the World’s Wildlife

A New Crossroads in Historic Samarkand: Shaping the Future for the World’s Wildlife

by Brianna LawIn the historic city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, long known as the crossroads of cultures, I found myself at a different kind of crossroads: the future of the world’s wildlife. In one of the world’s oldest cities, thousands of ...
A wide expanse of ocean is broken by a large four-pillared construction with complex machinery perched on top

Navigating the depths of marine policy: My Knauss Fellowship experience

by Emily YoungAs a deep-sea ecologist, my research life revolved around the intricate details of tiny worms dwelling in the darkest corners of the ocean. My grad school years were spent immersed in research, teaching, and science communication, but one ...
Thin dirty ice flows dot the surface of a dark green ocean, under high, layered clouds

How the Knauss Fellowship has shaped my view of science

by Sarah Tucker It's 11 am on a sunny, but chilly, June morning off the coast of Nome, Alaska. Hundreds of small pieces of broken and melting sea ice are sprinkled across the dark gray waves as far as the ...
Aerial view looking onshore at charred trees and buildings reduced to ashes, with rolling green volcanic slopes in the background.

Lahaina Strong: The strength of community through Community Resilience Hubs

by Cuong Tran On August 8, 2023, the worst imaginable happened. Deadly wildfires fueled by hurricane-force winds engulfed historic Lahaina and Kula on the island of Maui. Thousands of people displaced, hundreds of homes and businesses destroyed, and many lives ...
A row of colorful national flags extend down a marble-floored hallway

A Knauss Fellow’s perspective of the 45th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting

by Gina Selig As a Knauss Fellow at the National Science Foundation, I served as a U.S. Delegate to the 45th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) as part of the United States Delegation. The meeting, organized by the Ministry for ...
A group of about 30 pose together

A journey from Brazil to DC, via Hawaiʻi: My experience as a Knauss Fellow

by Mariana Rocha de SouzaFor me, growing up in a small town in Brazil, the idea of working for the U.S. federal government in DC seemed far-fetched. But as the first person in my family to learn multiple languages, apply ...
Close-up photo of two bright yellow creatures curled toward each other, like commas, each with a pointed dart out one end

Bohemian Behemoths: Kinks in the Animal Kingdom

by Paolo Marra-Biggs (He/Him)The ocean is a wondrous place, where body forms are not as confined as they are on land. The ocean’s dense medium creates a relative weightlessness and gives animals the freedom in a three-dimensional space to evolve ...
More