PRINCESS ANNE, Md. — Two Florida A&M University students were recognized for outstanding research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 11th Biennial Education and Science Forum, held at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

Lalah Choice of Washington, D.C., earned first place in the undergraduate oral presentation category for the Healthy Oceans section. Her research focused on monitoring the heart rate of tagged American lobsters, a project completed during her internship at NOAA’s James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory.

Kion James, an undergraduate from Miami, placed third in the undergraduate poster presentations in the same category. He previously interned at NOAA Fisheries at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center in Panama City, Florida.

Both students are scholars with the NOAA Center for Coastal and Marine Ecosystems-II (CCME-II), headquartered at FAMU’s School of the Environment. FAMU leads CCME-II in partnership with five other universities across the country. The center is one of four Cooperative Science Centers funded by NOAA’s Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (EPP/MSI), which aims to strengthen the pipeline of talent in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for the NOAA workforce.

“The center plays an important role to train and graduate U.S. citizens in NOAA-mission aligned STEM disciplines that supports the nation’s competitiveness,” said Viniece Jennings, Ph.D., CCME-II deputy director. “The biennial forum is a signature event for students to network and showcase their research. We are proud of their recognitions at the forum and the opportunity to train the pipeline of excellent talent.”

More than 50 research presentations were delivered by CCME-II students and faculty at the forum, advancing NOAA’s priorities of healthy oceans, environmental intelligence, resilient coastal communities, and a weather-ready nation.

In addition to Choice and James, nine other CCME-II scholars were recognized for their research:

• Sonia Duran, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
• Josie Fountain, Bethune-Cookman University
• Nayeli Garcia, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
• Valeria Garza, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
• Kate Gomez Rangel, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi
• Daija Green, Jackson State University
• Samantha Houser, Bethune-Cookman University
• Angelica Ovalle, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi
• Sebastian Reya, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

NOAA’s EPP/MSI initiative supports ongoing efforts to build a diverse, skilled workforce dedicated to environmental stewardship and scientific innovation.

Media Contact:

Rachel James-Terry
rachel.jamesterry@famu.edu

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