Student-Led Research

Student-Led Research
water satellite technology

OPAL works with graduate students who have conducted research in estuaries and oceans here in New England, but also spanning the globe to South America, the South Pacific, the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and Antarctica. Compelling issues associated with the ocean's response to climate dynamics and fishing pressures, along with many new inwater and satellite technologies are leading to exciting new opportunities to tailor research in collaboration with OPAL scientists.

Study and research at UNH within both EOS and the UNH School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering provides students with access to a broad range of Earth system expertise and we work to foster an environment where interdisciplinary approaches to problem solving are encouraged. OPAL faculty teach and advise within the Earth Science and Oceanography programs and we also work with students across a range of disciplines including engineering, mathematics and computer science. 

Meet Opal Students

  • Sarah Benson out at sea on the R/V Kilo Moana with a CTD Rosette sampler.
    Sarah Benson
    Oceanography M.S. '21
    Sarah is currently a Staff Scientist/Chemist at NewFields specializing in sediment management and marine services and working to reduce impacts of contaminants in marine environments. She feels her UNH experience at sea for two weeks post graduation aboard the R/V Kilo Moana helped land her career.
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  • Kerry aboard UNH's R/V Gulf Challenger preparing the CTD rosette for sample collection.
    Kerry Dykens
    Oceanography M.S. '21
    Kerry is a Macroalgal Curator at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Maine working with incubator-grown seaweed. She finds this work especially important in today's climate because seaweed aquaculture is up-and-coming as a viable solution for a sustainable and regenerative food source. 
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  • Jessica measuring seawater nutrient content in the Letscher analytical chemistry wet laboratory at UNH.
    Jessica Gray
    Biogeochemical Oceanography M.S. '22
    I was eager to get involved in research, so at the end of my freshman year of undergrad, I ended up reaching out to Dr. Robert Letscher who, at the time, was new to UNH as well.
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  • Color photo of Melissa on boat in Hawaii
    Melissa Meléndez
    Oceanography Ph.D. '20
    Melissa is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa working on a high-frequency autonomous dual sensor to measure seawater total alkalinity and pH to evaluate metabolic processes in Hawaiian coral reef areas from in situ time series and process study data. 
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  • John Taylor aboard R/V Electra with the cod end of the tucker trawl used to catch juvenile fish for research.
    John Taylor
    Oceanography M.S. '20
    John got his MS from UNH and is currently a Marine Ecotoxicology PhD student at the department of ecology, environment and plant sciences at Stockholm University. His research is on how cyanobacteria blooms in the Baltic Sea affect the growth of fish and their accumulation of toxins and pollutants.
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Meet More OPAL students