People - The Scientists with Stories Project @ Duke and UNC | The Scientists with Stories Project @ Duke and UNC

Student Leaders

Yasmin von Dassow (Duke) a second-year PhD student in Marine Science and Conservation at DUML. She earned a BA in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MS in Geological Sciences from the University of California, Riverside. Prior to starting at Duke, Yasmin worked in science outreach for several years as a teacher and curriculum developer at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, PA. She has taught students of all ages and economic backgrounds, including students with special needs. She continues to participate in public outreach at the Duke Marine Lab. In an effort to bring together graduate students from eastern North Carolina, Yasmin and a student colleague resurrected the DUML Graduate Student Mini-Symposium in Fall 2011. The symposium, funded in part by the Duke/UNC Oceanographic Consortium and the Duke Marine Lab, drew participants from four different universities and spurred the collaboration on this grant proposal. Yasmin uses macro and micro-scale digital images and video in her research. She hopes to use digital media to communicate the tremendous beauty and diversity of marine invertebrates to a wider audience.

Clare Fieseler (UNC) is a first year PhD student in the Curriculum for the Environment and Ecology at UNC-Chapel Hill. In 2010, Clare received a Masters of Environmental Management from Duke University and worked the following year as a Fellow at Dukeʼs Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. While a student at Duke, Clare lead a photography competition in 2009 that was co-hosted by the Nicholas School of Environment and the Center for Documentary Studies. She convened a judging panel of faculty expects and managed the submission, judging, and exhibition of over 50 images. Clare worked for National Geographic Film and Television before pursuing graduate school, where she assisted the development and post-production of over 20 wildlife films. Clare strives to integrate her interests in marine ecology and media. In 2010, her short film “Plastic Future: The Midway Story” was an official selection for NOAAʼs International Marine Debris Conference. To date, the film has received over 3,000 hits on YouTube. She has blogged about ocean issues at climateshifts.org and National Geographicʼs News Watch.

Rachel Gittman (UNC) is a third year PhD student in the Curriculum for the Environment and Ecology at UNC-Chapel Hill, based at IMS. Rachel received a BS in Environmental Sciences with a specialization in Conservation Ecology from the University of Virginia in 2006. While at UVA, Rachel was the program manager for a Madison House environmental volunteer organization that focused on educating high school and college students. Prior to coming to UNC in the fall of 2009, she worked as an environmental scientist and project manager for Eastern Research Group (ERG), an environmental consulting firm in Chantilly, VA. While at ERG, Rachel worked on environmental policy and management projects for numerous Federal agencies. Her dissertation work at UNC is focused on the impacts of management policies and development practices on salt marsh habitats in coastal North Carolina and on mangrove and salt marsh habitats on the coast of Ecuador. Rachel is working with NC state agencies, the North Carolina Coastal Federation, and NC coastal residents to develop digital and hardcopy communication and outreach tools that promote sustainable management of coastlines.

Heather Heenehan (Duke) is pursuing a PhD in Marine Science and Conservation at DUML. She graduated from the University of Connecticut with a BS in Environmental Science and recently graduated with her Master of Environmental Management degree from Duke University. Before coming to Duke, Heather worked in education departments at SeaWorld in Orlando, FL and at The Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, NJ. Her masterʼs project focused on spinner dolphins around the Island of Hawaiʼi and the impacts of human interactions on these dolphins. As part of her masterʼs research, Heather produced a YouTube video while at Midway Atoll. She is currently working with Dr. David Johnston on the Digital Sea Monsters project and the Cachalot iPad application as a student content manager. She continues to research Hawaiian spinner dolphins for her PhD dissertation, investigating the dynamics of acoustic behavior and exploring the policy implications of this research.

Megumi Shimizu (Duke) is a second year PhD student in Marine Science & Conservation at DUML. Megumiʼs research is focusing on the influence of environmental and seasonal changes on the microbial metabolic activities and its community structure in the coast of NC and the Weddle Sea, Antarctica. She has the experience as a guest writer on the blog, Southern Fried Science. She is planning to design and manage a multimedia website and blog for an upcoming scientific expedition to the Weddle Sea, Antarctica.

Faculty Advisors

Dr. David W. Johnston (Duke) is well prepared to mentor students involved in The Scientists with Stories Project. He is familiar with most technology-oriented platforms for science education and communication and employs many for his own research and communication projects (i.e. web, audio, video, digital photography – see http://superpod.ml.duke.edu/johnston).
Johnston, a research scientist at the Duke Marine Lab, is an accomplished lecturer with experience in large and small classes at both undergraduate and graduate levels, including teaching field courses in remote locations. Johnston has extensive experience incorporating new technologies into teaching and science communication, including the use of research-grade global circulation models (i.e.. EdGCM) and custom digital textbooks deployed on mobile devices like the Apple iPad. Specific examples are provided below:
• Johnston pioneered the use of blogs for course use and student evaluation in the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. This was done for a capstone Marine Conservation Ecology course for Masters students that visit Midway Atoll in the central Pacific.
• Johnston was also the first faculty member at the Duke Marine Lab to use hand-held video cameras for course projects, once again for the Marine Conservation Ecology course for Masters students that visit Midway Atoll in the central Pacific.
• Johnston currently directs the Digital Sea Monsters project at Duke. This project aims to develop marine science educational materials for mobile computing platforms. This project recently released and open-access iPad-based digital textbook for the Marine Megafauna course at DUML called Cachalot. This app is used in teaching two courses at Duke, with more on the horizon. (See http://superpod.ml.duke.edu/cachalot)

Dr. John Bruno (UNC) is a professor in the Department of Biology. A recipient of multiple NSF, NOAA, and state grants, Dr. Brunoʼs research focuses on the ecology of regional and global change in marine ecosystems. He has relevant experience in developing initiatives that reach across disciplines and universities. Dr. Bruno is currently a board member of the UNC Galapagos Science Center, a field station that attracts UNC researchers in population studies, geography, terrestrial biology, and marine science. He has been heavily involved in developing the partnership between UNC and the University of San Francisco-Quito in building new infrastructure and research collaborations for the Center. He regularly contributes to national news stories via interviews and photography. John has been a regular blogger at ClimateShifts.org and a guest blogger for HuffingtonPost.com. In 2011, Dr. Bruno founded the now prominent blog SeaMonster.net with a colleague from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. The blog supports research stories from the field, scientific debate, video, podcasts, photography, and other forms of multimedia relevant to marine science and exploration.