Congratulations to Emily Slesinger who has been elected for the 2021 University and Louis Bevier Fellowship Award

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind (Atlantic Shores) announced the launch of two buoys that will collect critical atmospheric and weather data, and track the migration of species of birds, fish, turtles and other animals that have been nanotagged by researchers. Each buoy will be deployed in the offshore wind developer’s Lease Area off the coast of Atlantic City to strengthen atmospheric models that help inform how the developer designs and estimates energy production for their proposed project. Some data collected will also help deepen research of the Mid-Atlantic Cold Pool as well as help study animal migration and stop-over activities to inform the development of offshore wind in the area. Full article at Businesswire

Congratulations to Jessica Valenti who has been awarded the School of Graduate Studies Merit and Achievement Award for Excellence in Leadership and Teaching.  This award recognizes Jessica’s excellent leadership and teaching at Rutgers, and her research in understanding the ecology of coastal fisheries and how they may respond to urbanization. Her dissertation work has been recognized externally through numerous awards for student posters and student oral presentations, as well as merit-based scholarship awards. Jessica has also distinguished herself in the leadership of group operations pertaining to her dissertation and to the wider profession. She served as the elected President of the Rutgers Student Subunit of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the American Fisheries Society (AFS), led the Student Activities Committee for the 2018 AFS National Meeting, taught on the Rutgers Science Bus, and participated in various community outreach events (Rutgers Day, Rutgers University Marine Field Station open house). Congrats Jessica for excellent work!!!

This episode is the third in a four-part series on “Silbo”, Teledyne Webb Research’s autonomous underwater glider that recently made the first ever circumnavigation of the Atlantic Ocean by an unmanned underwater vehicle. In this episode of Marine Tech Talk, Joe Gradone, Rutgers graduate student, discusses Silbo’s journey from St. Thomas back to Cape Cod. This was the final leg of the journey and covered just under a year (348 days) and 6236 km. https://marinetechtalk.libsyn.com/episode-33-slocum-glider-silbo-circumnavigates-the-atlantic-ocean-part-3

Dr. Hugh Roarty from Rutgers University along with colleagues Dr. Anthony Kirincich and Ms. Eve Cinquino from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Figure 1) installed a 13 MHz CODAR SeaSonde to collect radar data in the vicinity of the Orsted Block Island Wind Farm .  The radar was installed with help from the Galilee Beach Club providing the real estate and power for the equipment.  Special thanks to Tracy Baran and David Field from the Beach Club who assisted with the permissions and installation.  The system will run for one month collecting radar and surface current data in the presence of 5 wind turbines (Figure 2).  This will allow CODAR Ocean Sensors to test their mitigation algorithms to minimize the interference from offshore wind turbines on coastal radars.  This work was funded by a grant from the NOAA IOOS Ocean Technology Transition program.

Bloomberg Energy Briefing – Diverse Coalition Supports Biden Offshore Wind Expansion Plans: “A broad coalition of national nonprofits, labor unions, developers, and environmental justice organizations released a “unity statement” …praising the administration’s recent announcement to significantly expand offshore wind leasing and investment.” WASHINGTON—Last week, a broad coalition of business, community, environmental, and labor groups issued the following statement in response to the Biden Administration’s announcement of new leasing, funding, and development goals to accelerate and deploy offshore wind energy and jobs. “As renewable energy developers, workers of all stripes, front-line community members, and environmental advocates, we applaud President Biden’s early, bold commitments to advance 30 gigawatts (GW) of responsible offshore wind development by 2030. The Administration-wide approach to jumpstart American offshore wind power—including tangible next steps on leasing, permitting, port investments, loan guarantees, research funding, and more—offers a solid game plan for confronting the climate crisis and ensuring we Build Back Better. “We face unprecedented and intersecting environmental, public health, and economic crises that exacerbate racial and social injustices—presenting an existential threat to our communities, our nation, and our world. Offshore wind is uniquely positioned to help address these challenges. The Administration’s sweeping, whole-government approach outlined this week signals the urgency, seriousness, and determination that is needed to face these threats head on. “We are united in our belief that done right, offshore wind power will create thousands of quality, family-sustaining jobs in manufacturing, construction, operations, and maintenance, and in the development of port facilities and associated infrastructure. We agree that offshore wind power can and must be developed in a manner that protects coastal and marine ecosystems and advances social and racial equity and environmental justice. “Together, we stand ready to work with the Biden Administration to help fulfill today’s offshore wind commitments with a comprehensive, responsible approach to scaling up this critical new energy source for America.” Signed By: Acadia Center, Deborah Donovan Aker Offshore Wind, Jonah Margulis Alliance for Affordable Energy, Jessica Hendricks All Our Energy, George Povall Alliance for Clean Energy New York, Anne Reynolds Anbaric, Janice Fuller Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, Robert A. DiGiovanni, Jr. Atlantic Offshore Terminals LLC, Boone Davis Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, Jennifer Daniels Avangrid Renewables, Bill White BlueGreen Alliance, Jason Walsh Brightline Defense, Eddie Ahn Bristol Community College, Jennifer Menard Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, LLP, J Kevin Healy Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau and Suffolk Counties, Matty Arachic Business Network for Offshore Wind, Liz Burdock Capital Region Chamber, Mark Eagan Center for Economic Growth, Katie Newcombe Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Adrienne Esposito Climate Jobs NY, Jeff Vockrodt Climate Reality Chautauqua Chapter, Lisa Mertz Climate Reality Finger Lakes Greater Region NY Chapter, Thomas Hirasuna Climate Reality Peconic Region Chapter, Cate Rogers Concerned Citizens of Montauk, Laura Tooman Connecticut Audubon Society, Patrick Comins Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, Lori Brown Conservation Law Foundation, Sean Mahoney Delaware Interfaith Power & Light, John Sykes Defenders of Wildlife, Jim Lyons Drive Electric Long Island Coalition, Marjaneh Issapour E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs), Sandra Purohit EnBW, Damian Bednarz Environmental Defense Fund, Elizabeth Gore Environmental League of MA, Elizabeth Turnbull Henry Equinor Wind US, Anders Hangeland Foley Hoag LLP, Noah Shah Green Energy Consumers Alliance, Kai Salem Grow Smart Rhode Island, Scott Millar Gulf of Maine Sustainability Alliance, Dave Wilby Gulf States Renewable Energy Industry Association, Stephen Wright Jersey Renews Coalition, Berenice Tompkins League of Conservation Voters, Sara Chieffo Long Island Association, Kevin Law Long Island Contractor’s Association (LICA), Marc Herbst Long Island Federation of Labor, Roger Clayman Magellan Wind, Jim Lanard Mainstream Renewable Power, Paula Major Maryland League of Conservation Voters, Kim Coble Massachusetts AFL-CIO, Chrissy Lynch Mayflower Wind, Michael Brown Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition, Bruce Burcat Mothers Out Front, Susan Helms Daley Nassau Hiking & Outdoor Club, Guy Jacob National Audubon Society, Garry George National Grid, Badar Khan National Wildlife Federation, Catherine Bowes Natural Resources Defense Council, Nathanael Greene New England for Offshore Wind, Susannah Hatch New Jersey Audubon, Drew Tompkins New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, Ed Potosnak New Jersey Organizing Project, Amanda Devecka-Rinear NJ Work Environment Council, Debra Coyle McFadden New York League of Conservation Voters, Julie Tighe New York Offshore Wind Alliance, Joe Martens NY4WHALES, William Rossiter Ocean Conservancy, Anne Merwin OCEANA, Diane Hoskins Offshore Wind California, Adam Stern Orsted North America, Inc., Fred Zalcman OW Ocean Winds, Enrique Alvarez-Uria Port of Albany, New York, Richard J. Hendrick ProsperityForRI.com, Greg Gerritt Reel Therapy Charters, Capt. Paul Eidman Regional Planning Association, Robert Freudenberg RENEW Northeast, Francis Pullaro Renewable Energy and Sustainability Center (RESC) at Farmingdale State College, Professor Marjaneh Issapour Renewable Energy Long Island, Gordian Raacke RWE, Dominik Schwegmann Rise Light & Power, Clint Plummer SAFE (Salem Alliance for the Environment), Patricia Gozemba Save the Sound, Charles J. Rothenberger Second Nature, Tim Carter Seed Kit, Ana Mallozzi Sierra Club, Bill Corcoran Sisters of St. Joseph, Sister Karen Burke, CSJ, EdD South Shore Audubon Society, Brien Weiner Southeastern Wind Coalition, Katharine Kollins Southern Environmental Law Center, David Carr Special Initiative on Offshore Wind, Univ. of Delaware, Kris Ohleth Students for Climate Action, Harrison Bench Suffolk CLimate Reality Chapter, Melissa Griffiths The Alliance for Business Leadership, Jen Benson The Climate Actors, Tim Guinee The Climate Reality Westchester Chapter, Janet Harckham The Hudson Valley & Catskills Climate Reality Chapter, Tim Guinee The Nature Conservancy, Stu Gruskin UMass Lowell, Mary Usovicz Union of Concerned Scientists, John Rogers Univeristy of Delaware, College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment, Dean Estella Akweseh Atekwana US Wind, Jeffrey Grybowski Vineyard Wind, Rachel Pachter Virginia League of Conservation Voters, Michael Town WE ACT for Environmental Justice, Peggy Shepard Western New York Climate Reality Chapter, Lynn Saxton Windstar, Chris Niezrecki Wildlife Conservation Society, John Calvelli WinWithWind, Jeremiah Mulligan 350 Cape Cod, Sheila Place 350 Mass, Carolyn Barthel 350 New Orleans, Andy Kowalczyk “Last week the Biden Administration signaled its strong commitment for offshore wind energy and more than one hundred organizations representing a broad and diverse spectrum of developers, labor unions, frontline environmental justice groups, research organizations and environmental non-profits reacted in unison to the responsible development of

Off the coast of New Jersey these days, surveillance vessels hired by European energy companies are taking measurements of the ocean depths, and underwater research drones are analyzing water temperatures to accumulate data on the Mid-Atlantic “Cold Pool.” Onshore in places like the Port of Paulsboro along the Delaware River south of Camden and Philadelphia, labor unions, port officials and politicians are angling for new marine terminals to build and ship off massive steel monopiles. And in weekly board meetings, state-appointed officials in charge of the Garden State’s public utilities are discussing massive overhauls to the power grid and many miles of new transmission lines. Billions of dollars will be invested in the next several years — at sea and on land — to erect hundreds of wind turbines miles from the coast in order to bring New Jersey 7,500 megawatts of renewable energy. That’s enough to power half of the state’s 1.5 million homes. Eight other states along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States have embarked on similar endeavors, preparing for the arrival of a new era in American energy. “Wind energy is going to be real. It’s just a question of how much,” EnvironmentNJ executive director Doug O’Malley said. “Flooding down the shore is real. Our number one priority is how our coastal communities are going to be a generation from now. Who knows if we’re here in 2050? We need to study this as much as possible, but also understand we need to look at the full picture of climate change.” Full article at NBC Philadelphia