Congratulations to our graduates! The annual SoMAS Convocation occurred virtually for the first time on Friday, May 22, 2020 on the SoMAS website, Facebook and YouTube. Students gathered with their friends and family and SoMAS faculty, staff, and fellow students to celebrate the completion of their journey at Stony Brook University.
Over 250 connections watched the live stream event, where 92 undergraduate students and graduate students were recognized. This includes 11 in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, 5 in Coastal Environmental Studies, 5 in Ecosystems and Human Impact, 10 in Environmental Design, Policy, and Planning, 3 in Environmental Humanities, 25 in Environmental Studies, 13 in Marine Sciences, 14 in Marine Vertebrate Biology, 6 in Sustainability Studies, 11 Master of Arts, 8 Master of Science, and 11 Doctor of Philosophy. The faculty directors of each program offered their congratulations to the students. Some were even accompanied by other members of their household, like Dr. Sharon Pochron and her chicken!
Dean Paul Shepson commented on some improvements made to the program since it was first posted on May 22, 2020. His opening remarks highlighted highlighted the world-wide feeling of “what just happened?!” coupled with a reminder that this graduating class expresses the qualities “of what SoMAS is all about–resilience.” Dr. Carl Safina gave a Convocation Address that reminded us all that while we may not have been together at graduation, we were together online for graduation. Special Guest speaker Dr. Sylvia Earle provided an inspiring message to our graduates. Ms. Christina Fink read the names of our Undergraduate and MCP students, and Dr. David Black read the names of our MS and PhD students. Dean Shepson provided closing remarks that were joined by a chorus of well wishes from several faculty, staff and alumni.
The program PDF is available to download. Photos of the Class of 2020 are available on Google Photos and student slides are also available on Google Photos.
The Class of 2020 was featured in the inaugural set of SoMAS Academic Trading Cards. The set is available on Google Photos.
This event would not have been possible without the assistance from Christina Fink, David Black, Ginny Clancy, Kurt Bretsch, Nancy Black, Paul Shepson, Carl Safina, Mark Wiggins, Donna Selch, Brad Peterson, Kamazima Lwiza, David Taylor, Chris Paparo, Tara Rider, Katherine Aubrecht, Ellen Pikitch, Brian Colle, Arlene Cassidy, Donovan Finn, Sharon Pochron, Glenn Lopez, Steve Beaupre, Anne McElroy, Nils Volkenborn, Brittney Scannell. Jackie Collier, Edmund Chang, Michael French, Robert Cerrato, Matt Colson, Robert Aller, and Chris Gobler.
The Digital Convocation was compiled by Mark Lang.
In the YouTube video below, use the playlist button in the top right corner to choose different videos in the series. Individual clips from the SoMAS Convocation program are available, including Dean Shepson’s Comments on Improvements to the program, his Opening Remarks, the address from our Convocation speaker, the awarding of Undergraduate Certificates, the various award winners, the awarding of Graduate Certificates with Dean Shepson’s Closing Remarks, and congratulatory messages from the Crew at Southampton and also from SoMAS faculty, staff and alumni. Also included are video messages to Stony Brook students from Interim President Michael Bernstein, President-elect Maurie McInnis, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, Lt. Governor Kathy Hocul, and comedian Hasan Minhaj, who was scheduled to perform at Stony Brook University but had to cancel. SUNY Chancellor Kristina Johnson’s address to all SUNY graduates and President Barack Obama’s address to the Class of 2020 round out the individual messages. In case you missed it, the Stony Brook University Commencement ceremony and the Virtual Doctoral Hooding Ceremony are also included, along with messages from the Spirit of Stony Brook Marching Band and the Stony Brook Alumni Association with a reminder that you are a Seawolf for Life!
Awarding of Undergraduate Certificates
B.S. in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Presented by Dr. Brian A. Colle
Benjamin Bacon, Justin Bettenhauser, Matthew Conticchio, Michael Cooke, Michael Dimaiuta, Skyler Graap, Bridget Hyland, William Rong, Robert Schmidt, Anna Smith, Magdalena Wrobel
B.S. in Coastal Environmental Studies Presented by Dr. Kate Aubrecht
- Christopher Biondi, Adam Dean, Yakut Karali, Jesenia Laureano, Kyle Walter
B.A. in Ecosystems and Human Impact Presented by Dr. Sharon Pochron
- Miranda Gonzales, Brianna Michel, Alyssa Mikesh, William Moore, Adam Peretzman
B.A. in Environmental Design, Policy and Planning Presented by Dr. Donovan Finn
- Elizabeth Aranguiz, Alaaddin Baskurt, Tess Kelly, Brandon Morgan, Esthela Ocampo, Francis Tomasso, Dong Xia, Nancy Yang, Joie Yee, Ziai Zhou
B.A. in Environmental Humanities Presented by Dr. David Taylor
- Hongyu Fan, Taylor Larson, Krislyn Rodriguez
B.A. in Environmental Studies Presented by Dr. Kamazima M.M. Lwiza
- Alexis Bashta, Andrew Boardman, Karyn Cassidy, Arthur Cody, Samantha Dequarto, Lijia Gao, Frank Griffo, Tea Grzanov, Katelyn Hill, Kyle Huhn, Jade Killean, Jessica Klassert, Michael Langer, Shelby Layton, Sarah Martin, Erline Martinez, Angela Minelli, Alex Montalvo, Joseph Murphy, Jacalyn Padilla, Mia Ramirez, Julianna Russo, Gina Marie Schultz, Emily Stevenson, Alisson Vera
B.S. in Marine Sciences Presented by Dr. Kamazima M.M. Lwiza
- Peter Austin, Kaitlyn Carr, Katelyn Castler, Nicole Cruz, Tiffany Cui, Flynn Delany, John Dimarzo, Kimberly Marko, Christopher Mikolaitis, Samantha Mislinksi, Jennifer Repp, Angelo Macapagal San Pablo, Marcella Wallace
B.S. in Marine Vertebrate Biology Presented by Dr. Kamazima M.M. Lwiza
- Hannah Abbott, Cassidy Bell, Laura Bonilla, Christina Cloutier, Corrin Da Silva, Alfredo Esposito, Julia Lopez, Delphine Mossman, Kallen Muste, Camilla Piechocki, Tessa Reynolds, Mateo Rivera, Ana Shore, John Thraen
B.A. in Sustainability Studies Presented by Dr. Arlene Cassidy
- Orlando Avellaneda, Benjamin Lahood, Anthony Otters, Kevin Peterson, Elyssa Torres, Shannon Wright
Awards
- Undergraduate Honors presented by Dr. Paul Shepson, Dean
Flynn Delany, Infection presence of Phytophthora in current and historic Zostera marina beds of eastern Long Island Bays, Dr. Bradley Peterson, Advisor
Mia Ramirez, The response of earthworms (Eisenia fetida) and soil microbes to Crumb Rubber Leachate, Dr. Sharon Pochron, Advisor
Catherine Sander, The Implications of BPS as a substitute for BPA, Dr. Sharon Pochron, Advisor
Robert Schmidt, Modeling Ridge-and-runnel formation on Long Island’s ocean shoreline, Dr. Henry Bokuniewicz, Advisor
- Stony Brook Alumni Association Dean’s Choice Awards Presented by Matthew Colson, Executive Director of Alumni Relations
- Benjamin Bacon, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
- Samantha Dequarto, Environmental Studies
- Jade Killian, Environmental Studies
- Delphine Mossman, Marine Vertebrate Biology
- Kevin Peterson, Sustainability Studies
- Taylor Larson, Environmental Humanities
- Undergraduate Environmental Essay Awards
- First Prize, Mei-Lynn Stout
- Second Prize, Laura Osa
- Third Prize, Kallen Muste
- Timothy Magnussen Memorial Scholarship Award Presented by Dr. Brian A. Colle
- Grace Ahn (junior MVB major); Timothy Skula (senior ATM major)
- Petra M. Udelhofen Memorial Scholarship Award Presented by Dr. Brian A. Colle
- Austin Reed
- Nuria Protopopescu Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching Presented by Dr. Robert C. Aller
- Samantha Nyer
- Pikitch Family Endowed Student Research Award Presented by Dr. Ellen Pikitch
- Evan Ingram
- Jerry Schubel Graduate Fellowships
- Noah Strycker, Adelle Molina, Christopher Brianik, Kimberly Lato & Xiaoning Wu
- Best Thesis/Dissertation Awards Presented by Dr. David Black
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- Best MS Thesis was given to Evan Horowitz, advised by Kirk Cochran.
- Best PhD Dissertation is awarded to Yang Zhou, advised by Hyemi Kim.
Graduate Certificates
Master of Arts in Marine Conservation and Policy Certificates Presented by Dr. Glenn Lopez
- Kayla Clauson, Dylan Corbett, Hope Dickens, Allegra Ervin, Jane Feng, Jonathan Gaare, Amanda Gorman, Karine Kleinhaus, Robert Rodriguez, Elizabeth Salzman, Nolan Slattery
Master of Science and Doctoral Certificates in Marine and Atmospheric Sciences Presented by Dr. David Black
Master of Science in Marine & Atmospheric Sciences
- Michelle Barbosa
Physiological and Molecular Traits Associated with Resilience to Ocean Acidification in Crassostrea virginica
Dr. Bassem Allam, Advisor - Ashley Braunthal
Studying Paleo-Redox Conditions Recorded in Laminated Sediments of Bowers Ridge, Bering Sea (IODP Expedition 323, Site U1342)
Dr. Laura Wehrmann, Advisor - Timothy Curtin
Effects of buffering muds with calcium carbonate on the growth, survival, and behavior of juvenile hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria)
Dr. Christopher Gobler, Advisor - Elizabeth Najman
Stochastic Parameterization in the Zhang McFarlane Deep Convection Scheme
Dr. Kevin Reed, Advisor - Samantha Nebylitsa
Snow Particle Properties Estimation Using Surface-Based and Remotely Sensed Measurements by the Stony Brook Radar Observatory
Dr. Pavlos Kollias, Advisor - Sarah Nickford
Mechanisms Controlling the Summertime Inter annual Variability of summertime sea surface temperatures and Chlorophyll-a in the Northwest Atlantic
Dr. Kamazima M.M. Lwiza, Advisor - Kaitlyn O’Toole
Development of a Bio-optical Model For Application Towards Seagrass Restoration Within the Peconic Bay estuary (Long Island, NY)
Dr. Bradley J. Peterson, Advisor - Jacob Segall
Storm-scale Polarimetric Radar Signatures Associated with Tornado Dissipation in Supercells
Dr. Michael French, Advisor
Doctor of Philosophy in Marine & Atmospheric Sciences
- Diego Cardeñosa
Development and Application of DNA Forensics to Global Shark Conservation and Law Enforcement
Dr. Demian D. Chapman, Advisor - Megan Hahn
The role of microbes in the interaction between the cestode parasite Schistocephalus solidus and its Threespine stickleback host
Dr. Nolwenn Dheilly, Advisor - Lisa Herbert
Trace Metal Cycling and Fluxes in Glacially Influenced Fjord Sediments
Dr. Laura Wehrmann, Advisor - Evan Ingram
Movement ecology of juvenile and sub-adult Atlantic Sturgeon in the Hudson River and New York Bight
Dr. Michael Frisk, Advisor - Seanna Mallon
Multiphase Oxidation and Photochemistry of Biomass Burning Aerosol Proxies: Kinetics and Products
Dr. Daniel Knopf , Advisor - Maren Mitch
Impact of Diet on Three Commercially Important Long Island Species
Dr. Robert M. Cerrato, Advisor - Samantha Nyer
The Influence of Plants on Nitrogen Biogeochemical Cycling in Constructed Wetlands
Dr. Roy Price, Advisor - Matthew Siskey
Implications of partial migration, redefined stock structure, and depleted age structure for stock assessment of winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus)
Dr. Michael Frisk, Advisor - Abigail Tyrell
Separating the effects of seawater viscosity and temperature on copepod biology and ecology
Dr. Nicholas Fisher, Advisor - Ryan Wallace
Coastal ocean acidification: Dynamics and potential to affect marine mollusks
Dr. Christopher J. Gobler, Advisor - Hang Yin
Cable bacteria and their influence on the sulfur cycle in bioturbated sediments
Drs. Qingzhi Zhu and Robert Aller, Advisors
Minors
Minor in Coastal Environmental Studies
Nicholas Cormier, Robert Schmidt, Magdalena Wrobel
Minor in Ecosystems and Human Impact
Flynn Delany, Lijia Gao, Tea Grzanov, Samantha Murphy, Clara Tucker
Minor in Environmental Design, Policy and Planning
Dominique Tjondro
Minor in Environmental Humanities
Anna Smith
Minor in Environmental Studies
Tiffany Cui, Emelie Einhorn, Sila Gecir, Kellie Gunning, Phoebe Ma, Isaiah Momplaisir, Margaret Osborne, Sophia Wang
Cassidy Bell, Lauren Bunce, Michael Cooke, Flynn Delany, Emelie Einhorn, Skyler Graap, Alina Lance, Christopher Mikolaitis, Jennifer Repp, Angelo Macapagal San Pablo, Francis Tomasso, Joie Yee, Zachary Zysberg
Thomas Boskamp, Arthur Cody, Emelie Einhorn, Claire Garfield, Alicia Gonzalez, Alyson Hall, Phoebe Ma, Qingyang Ma, Amy Okano, Joshua Porta, Lynne Richardson
Minor in Sustainability Studies
Tomer David, Elizabeth Doscher, Maximillian Kitaychik, Emma Morse, Seema Ramjit, Joseph Woltering
