Mallie Hunt

Mallie Hunt is a new graduate student in Sara Rivero-Calle’s lab. Mallie is from Tupelo, Miss. and a recent graduate from Mississippi State University with bachelor’s degrees in geology and anthropology. Her interest in this research led her to Skidaway Institute and UGA, where she will be pursuing her master’s degree in marine science.

“For my first research project as an undergraduate, I worked with water samples taken from the Gulf of Mexico to determine what algal pigments were most significant in remote sensing reflectance,” she said. “I also completed another project in which I identified algal species within samples collected from a local farm to determine if harmful algal blooms were behind the sudden death of cattle on the property.”

This summer and throughout her time in graduate school, Mallie will be working with Rivero-Calle to characterize the optical properties of algal species who have the potential to cause large and harmful blooms.

“These optical properties will be included in a hyperspectral library which will be a public resource that will link individual algal species to their optical properties such as absorption and backscattering,” she said. “With access to the information in this library, scientists and resource managers will be able to use satellite data to identify, track and study algal blooms.”

Kelsea Edwing

Sisters Kelsea and Deanna Edwing are from Darnestown, Md., and just graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with bachelor’s degrees in oceanography and geosciences, and minors in geology and geospatial technologies. In the fall, they will both attend the University of Delaware as master degree students in marine studies with a concentration in oceanography.

Deanna Edwing

This summer, they are working with Rivero-Calle to coordinate image acquisition with NASA Goddard and Clyde Space; handle image requests from the ocean color community; update UNCW’s website regarding the Seahawk CubeSat; and assist in fieldwork activities.

Keshav Raviprakash

Keshav Raviprakash is a rising third-year computer systems engineering major at the University of Georgia.

“I am currently working building a CubeSat satellite and a pressure of in situ gases instrument under Dr. Rivero-Calle,” he said.