My career-development plan is centered around two themes that serve to combine my research and educational projects within the University of Connecticut's new Coastal Studies program at Avery Point. The first theme focuses on visually-oriented techniques as tools to enhance learning and advance research, and the second theme focuses on laboratory-based learning programs that will enhance and strengthen both the undergraduate and graduate experience. My research initiatives will examine interactions between aggregated material (flocs, marine snow), and suspension-feeding, marine animals that live on the bottom. I will study whether bottom animals feed on particle aggregates and whether they release mucus during the normal feeding process that may affect how flocs form near the bottom. Many of my research techniques can be used as teaching tools to promote hands-on learning by undergraduate students (e.g., video microscopy, electronic particle counters, image analysis, video endoscopy) and will have immediate payoffs by providing opportunities for undergraduate research in my laboratory. In addition, my educational initiatives focus on hands-on learning and include developing three projects: (1) a video-ready teaching laboratory; (2) research experiences for undergraduates; and (3) a graduate student seminar that focuses on preparation for academic life. My research and teaching initiatives for graduate and undergraduate students will serve as a model for other faculty members at Avery Point and, with their support, allow me to build a comprehensive program.
