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News — Applicants are invited to apply for a six-month fellowship/scholarship opportunity for undergraduate students offered by the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS), a member of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System that provides timely, reliable, accurate and on-demand data and information on the open ocean and coastal ocean waters of the Gulf of Mexico to ensure a healthy, clean, productive ocean and resilient coastal zone.

The six-month GCOOS Fellowship, supported through the Howard Scholarship Fund, supports travel expenses for the successful candidate to attend the  (Feb. 18-23, 2024). It also includes the opportunity to learn how ocean observing programs like GCOOS inform decision-making in support of a healthy and productive Gulf of Mexico and the communities that depend on it.

The candidate will participate in meetings and discussion panels and work with GCOOS leadership, staff and partners, learning about ocean science career opportunities and the management of “big data.”

The successful candidate will be a dynamic undergraduate student interested in pursuing graduate studies in an ocean science field focused on ocean technology and/or ocean data management. During the six-month fellowship, the student will be expected to write an essay highlighting the experience that will be posted on the GCOOS website and shared via the GCOOS monthly eÂ鶹´«Ã½letter.

The fellowship opportunity provides funding for Ocean Sciences conference registration fees and travel expenses to (up to $2,500), and is limited to students attending university programs in, and living in, the U.S.

To Apply:

• Email 1.) Resume (three pages maximum), 2.)  letter of recommendation from a current or recent professor and 3.) a cover letter with expression of interest to GCOOS Outreach and Education Manager, Dr. Chris Simoniello at [email protected].
• Deadline: Materials should be provided before 5 p.m. ET Friday, Jan. 12, 2024.

About the Howard Scholarship Fund

Dr. Matt Howard was a founding member of GCOOS and an oceanographer at Texas A&M University who developed a unique expertise in oceanography and ocean data management systems, information architecture and marine spatial data infrastructure. Following his untimely death in 2018, his many friends and colleagues sought to memorialize his professional gifts and talents for oceanographic research and data system solutions, as well as his personal intellect, generosity, enthusiasm and sense of humor. The Howard Scholarship Fund is designed to support and engage data scientists who might be interested in oceanography, or oceanographers who might have a strong interest in marine spatial data infrastructure.