Steven Carrion

Hello Everyone! I am a Ronald E. McNair Scholar in the Interdisciplinary Studies program at the University of Central Florida. I'm majoring in Environmental Studies, Sciences Concentration, and I am an aspiring applied marine ecologist! In the future, I want to work cooperatively with policy makers, local communities, marine resource users, and professionals in varying disciplines to create practical multi-lateral solutions for the restoration and management of estuarine and coastal seas. I have previously researched the long-term impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on marine invertebrate communities living in coastal marsh sediments through a National Science Foundation REU experience at LUMCON. I was also involved in the cross-Mediterranean research group, Med-JellyRisk, to research hydroid fouling on aquaculture systems, and the trophic impact of proliferations of the understudied species, Velella velella, in Italy. This involvement has lead to co-authorship on a peer-reviewed paper in the Journal of Plankton Research. I have previously completed an intramurally funded group project on Spartina alterniflora cultivation which is used in shoreline stabilization, and I'm currently working on an undergraduate thesis looking to improve community-based living shoreline stabilization projects by examining factors that influence Spartina alterniflora transplant success. Last year I was nationally recognized through the Morris K. and Stewart L. Udall Foundation for my commitment to a career in academia as a scientist and educator, and my community involvement. I am also founder and President of the Mad Scientist's Research Society which you can find more information about here: http://madscisociety.org/

September 2015