Washington, D.C., April 22, 2014 - Kenneth Lang (pictured here), a former Marine Conservation and Policy Masters student from Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, was selected for the prestigious John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Class of 2014. The competitive fellowship recruits students from the 33 Sea Grant programs nationwide to complete a one-year paid fellowship in either the legislative or executive branch of the U.S. government in Washington, D.C. Ken was placed within NOAA's International Affairs Office where he will focus on research in Europe, Russia, and the Arctic. He began in February 2014.

While in Stony Brook’s Marine Conservation and Policy program (MCP), Lang completed an internship with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) International Waters Programme, where he studied three dozen transboundary water environmental remediation projects. Lang felt that his Knauss placement was a perfect fit with the skills and knowledge he obtained during his time in the MCP program.

“My internship taught me a great deal, and the MCP program was the perfect leader into the Knauss fellowship,” said Lang. “You get experience in both science and policy in the MCP program.”

The Knauss Fellowship provides an excellent opportunity for students interested in Marine Policy to kickstart their careers and obtain relevant, high-level experience in the nation’s capital. Lang has this advice to other MCP students aiming to follow his lead: “Graduate students hold a privileged status in society. Use that status,” says Lang, “You get where you want to go by talking to other people.”

The Class of 2014 includes the 1000th fellow to enter this selective program which was named after one of Sea Grant's founders, former NOAA Administrator, John A. Knauss. Since its inception in 1979, New York Sea Grant has launched 36 Knauss Fellows into the program.

New York Sea Grant sent two Knauss Fellows to Washington in 2013. Daniel Sousa of Columbia University served in the office of U.S. Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA) where he was the primary point person in the areas of oceans, climate change, fisheries, and invasive species, helping to draft and guide bills through the legislature and coordinating several Congressional briefings. Zach Schulman of Pace University Law School spent 2013 assigned to the Marine Transportation Systems Managements Directorate of the US Coast Guard. Zach traveled on a one-month excursion to the North Pole on the Coast Guard icebreaker Healy to test oil spill recovery systems, and became the sole Arctic expert in the Office of Marine Transportation Systems.

—Sara Hugentobler, Graduate Student, Marine Conservation and Policy Program, Stony Brook University; Barbara Branca, NYSG's Communications Manager


More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, is one of 33 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NSGCP engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting scientific research, education, training and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources. Through its statewide network of integrated services, NYSG has been promoting coastal vitality, environmental sustainability, and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources since 1971.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube links. NYSG also offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/coastlines for NY Coastlines, its flagship publication, which, in 2014, merges with the program's e-newsletter, Currents. NY Coastlines is published several times a year.