The Delaware Sea Grant College Program (DESG) invites graduate students studying environmental science, engineering and social science to apply for research fellowships.

The fellowships, offered in partnership with the Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve (DNERR), will begin as early as January 2017 and will provide up to one year of support for two graduate students to conduct environmentally relevant research in DNERR.

Deadline to apply is Oct. 3. For complete application materials, click here.

“This dynamic research opportunity will help graduate students to enhance their research experience and to gain expertise in proposal development, project management and research dissemination — skills that are increasingly critical to career advancement for today’s graduates,” said Jennifer Merrill, DESG research coordinator.

“This is an exciting opportunity to allow graduate students to gain experience in proposal writing all the while providing the opportunity for additional resources to conduct exciting research at the DNERR,” said Kari St. Laurent, DNERR research coordinator.

Research should be directed toward at least one of the following DNERR priorities:

• Understanding the observed and predicted effects of climate change, sea level rise and other human impacts on Delaware’s coastal ecosystems;

• Quantification of ecosystems services provided by coastal Delaware habitats; or

• Examination or implementation of wetland restoration techniques for protecting and enhancing resiliency to contaminants, invasive species, nutrient loading, coastal storms, etc.

DNERR is comprised of two “living laboratories” in the Delaware bayshore region: the St. Jones Reserve, a brackish estuarine system located on the St. Jones River in Dover, Delaware, and Blackbird Creek Reserve, a tidal freshwater estuarine system located in Townsend, Delaware.

The fellowship includes $10,000 in funding and at least a portion of the proposed research must be conducted within at least one of the reserves. Proposals also should consider broader implications related to environmental literacy and/or coastal stewardship.

Applicants may attend any university but must be in good academic standing.

About Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve

The Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve serves to protect and manage the natural resources within the Reserve as a place for research, and for providing education and outreach programs that promote better understanding of Delaware’s estuarine and coastal areas, and to promote informed coastal decision-making.

About Delaware Sea Grant

The University of Delaware was designated as the nation’s ninth Sea Grant College in 1976 to promote the wise use, conservation and management of marine and coastal resources through high-quality research, education and outreach activities that serve the public and the environment.

UD’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment administers the program, which conducts research in priority areas ranging from aquaculture to coastal hazards. Delaware Sea Grant is one of 33 Sea Grant programs nationwide.