Fellowships for Environmental Journalists at Marine Biological Laboratory, 28 May-7 June 2019, USA

Environmental Hands-On Research Course

This intensive course will introduce fellows to the experiments that scientists conduct, and the measurements they make, to discover the complex ways that added nitrogen alters coastal ecosystems, such as their capacity to keep up with sea level rise and impacts on marine organisms and coastal food webs.

Due to increased suburban and urban development, increased inorganic fertilizer production, and fossil fuel burning, human beings have altered the earth’s nitrogen cycle to a greater extent and more quickly than their alteration of the earth’s carbon cycle. On the Massachusetts coast, declines in water quality and oxygen, and loss of eelgrass, shellfish, and fish are local manifestations of this global nitrogen problem.

The fellows will make field and laboratory measurements that address questions about how added nitrogen affects estuaries and marsh and eelgrass habitats. They will work in a ecosystem-scale “space-for-time” experiment in Waquoit Bay on Cape Cod, where watershed development has added nitrogen and caused eutrophication. Fellows will take measurements to estimate the nitrogen loading to a local estuary. They will also take samples to determine if eutrophication increases or decreases the capacity of salt marshes to keep up with sea level rise, and consider how it alters the plants and animals in food webs. They will work with scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratory to analyze their samples, interpret their data, and present it to their colleagues at a mini-symposium.

REQUIRED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION:

• Enclose a copy of your curriculum vitae.
• Please arrange for two individuals to provide a letter of reference in support of your application.Where possible, one letter should be from a current or recent supervisor of your professional work.
• Please respond to these questions:
  
  1. Statement (not to exceed 600 words) describing your journalistic experience and professional goals, and explaining how this fellowship will benefit your career.
  2. A brief description (not to exceed 200 words) of any scientific laboratory or research experience you have had.
  3. Four samples of your science writing or editing work, in English. Written samples must be in PDF format. To submit broadcast or other multimedia samples, please email Diana Kenney for an upload link. At least two samples must have been published or produced in the last two years. Do not send unpublished work or elaborate samples such as books or magazines. Broadcast samples should be 30 minutes or less. Editors or broadcast directors should include a brief description of their role in producing the story.
  4. (Optional) Up to four fellows will be selected for an extended fellowship at the University of Chicago in fall 2019. If you wish to apply for a Chicago Fellowship please state, in 300 words or less, a question about science or technology that you feel the University of Chicago and its affiliated national laboratories are well positioned to answer.

Deadline: Completed application forms and required supporting documentation must be received by February 15, 2019.   You will be notified of the Admissions Committee's decision by mid-March. 

Financial support for Logan Science Journalism Program Fellows includes: Travel to and from Woods Hole or Chicago, housing, meals, and all costs associated with the Hands-On Research Courses and other program activities. Fellows from other countries are responsible for paying fellowships taxes for foreign nationals.

If you are a foreign national, please note that any support you receive from the MBL may be taxable. F1 and J1 students are generally taxed at 14%, other types of visas could be 30%. If you receive a MBL sponsored J1 short-term scholar visa, we will cover the J1 application fee upon request.

For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.