Castine Current
WE WANT YOUR
WATER!
ThispastfalOceanScienceinstructors includethephysicalbreakdownoflargemarine ousaboutplasticlevelsworldwide.Hereiswhere
Sarah O'Malley and Stacy Knapp have
debris (land-based trash and fishing gear) as wel
MMA alumni can help. If you are on the water
been col aborating with researchers at the
as fibers from synthetic clothing and micropel-
regularly and are interested in assisting with this
Marine Environmental Research Institute in Blue
lets from personal care products and industrial
research by collecting water samples wherever
Hil , Maine in the emerging field of microplastic
compounds. Working with O'Malley and Knapp,
you are in the world, researchers at MMA are
marine pol ution. While marine debris has been a
current students have been learning sampling and
interested in hearing from you. Contact Sarah
topic on mariners' minds for years, the realization
analysis techniques, testing the waters of Castine
O'Malley at sarah.omalley@mma.edu for more
that microscopic pol ution exists is a new one.
Harbor. Students on the 2013 BOWDOIN sail
information.
Marine microplastics are pieces of plastic found
training cruises collected water samples from
in the ocean that are less than 5mm long. Sources
points across the Gulf of Maine.
of the plastics are variable, and are thought to
This research is in its earliest stages. O'Malley
and Knapp and their fellow researchers are curi-
SEAWEED ON THE MENU
Thisfalstudents,faculty,thecollege seaweedcallednori.Othersmovedfromtableto
president, and townspeople participated
table to try out fruit salad with seaweed, carrot
in assistant professor of marine biology
cake with seaweed, fried tofu with seaweed, and
Jessica Muhlin's 6th annual Phycofeast Lab to
other intriguing foods, al prepared with some
learn how to prepare and enjoy various sea veg-
form of seaweed. Dr. Nic Blouin, an evolution-
etables. In the Harborview Dining Room, about
ary ecologist at the University of Rhode Island,
15 students prepared dishes containing seaweed.
assisted Dr. Muhlin.
President William Brennan threw himself into
learning how to make makizushi (sushi rice,
vegetables or seafood) rolled in a large piece of
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE ON
EDUCATION
TheInternationalStudentAmbassadors AlejandroNevārez'14fromPuertoRico;Neal vicepresident,remindedeveryonethatthegroup
Club (ISA) at MMA organized and hosted
Lofgren '12 and Robert Smart '12 who went to
was founded to provide cross-cultural exchanges
an evening colloquium entitled "A Global
Ireland; and Ryan Hyson '14 and Sam Diekmann
for MMA students, faculty, and international
Perspective on Education" in October 2013.
'13 who went to Spain, each gave a brief overview
visitors to MMA. Dr. Elaine Potoker, professor of
Professor Ismail Cetin, visiting professor from
of their time spent as professors or students in
international business, logistics, and management
Dokuz Eylul University in Turkey; Laurie Stone,
other countries. Andi Flannery, president of ISA,
advises the active club.
associate professor of Humanities at MMA;
made opening remarks and Benjamin Dolloff,
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