Congratulations to Professor Michael Whitney who has been promoted to Full Professor. Professor Whitney is an expert in coastal and estuarine physical oceanography and investigates physical dynamics such as river plumes, freshwater-saltwater mixing, tidal flows, and the impacts of bathymetry on circulation. He also researches the effects of these physical dynamics on water quality and the transport of debris, organisms, contaminants, and other chemicals. His research uses a combination of modeling and observational approaches including data collection and assimilation. To date he has published 43 research articles and received nearly $5 million in research funding as lead and co-principal investigator. Professor Whitney has active grants that support research on the transport of oyster larvae and harmful bacteria and the Icelandic Coastal Current.

Professor Whitney is actively engaged in education of our undergraduate, graduate, and certificate program students by teaching Physical Oceanography, Oceanographic Data Analysis, and River Influences on the Marine Environment. He has served as major advisor to nine MS and PhD students, involves undergraduates in his research, and participates in many outreach activities for local youth. He is actively engaged in service to the department, university, and broader scientific community including being the faculty point of contact and developer for our new Graduate Certificate in Oceanographic Science & Technology.

Professor Whitney joined UConn as an assistant professor in 2005 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012 and full professor in 2024. He has been Associate Head of the Department of Marine Sciences since August 2024.

Congratulations to Dr. Whitney on your achievements and thank you for your contributions to UConn and the scientific community!

Congratulations to Professor Julie Granger who has been promoted to Full Professor!

Professor Granger is an internationally renowned expert in nitrogen biogeochemistry who studies how nitrogen influences ocean productivity. She has led foundational research on how different microbial processes fractionate nitrogen and oxygen isotopes, the results of which have been applied by a wide community of researchers. Her active research projects include studying nitrogen and oxygen biogeochemistry in the southern Benguela Upwelling System, studying nutrient cycling in the Arctic Ocean, and researching how nutrient and metal limitation influences microbial ecosystems in the Southern Ocean and low-nutrient gyres. Professor Granger is a recipient of an NSF CAREER award and has received over $4 million in research grant funding.

Professor Granger teaches a research-based and community-engaged course, Measurements and Analysis in Coastal Ecosystems, which is taken by all of our senior Marine Sciences majors. Students synthesize what they have learned throughout their degree by investigating causes of water quality impairment in local watersheds and communicating the results to the public. Students enjoy the opportunity to apply their knowledge and develop skills that they will use in the workforce after graduation. She also teaches graduate courses including Isotope Biogeochemistry and Geological Oceanography.

Professor Granger has served as major advisor to nine MS and PhD students, regularly employs undergraduates in her research laboratory, and hosts graduate students and postdoctoral scholars from other institutions to conduct research at UConn.

She actively contributes to department and university service, and to the broader scientific community including developing standards for the measurement of nitrogen fixation rates and publishing oceanic trace element and isotope data (GEOTRACES database).

Professor Granger joined UConn as an assistant professor in 2011 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2017 and full professor in 2024.

Congratulations to Dr. Granger on your achievements and contributions to UConn and the scientific community!

Congratulations to Professor Jamie Vaudrey who has been promoted to Associate Research Professor.

Dr. Vaudrey leads applied research studying how human activities and land use changes affect coastal ecosystems to inform management. She was awarded the 2023 Faculty Environmental Leadership Award, which honors UConn staff who have had a positive impact on the environment by leading initiatives at UConn and beyond. She was recognized for leading the process to establish the Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve, which is based at the UConn Avery Point Campus, as well as helping to develop the Environmental Report Card for Long Island Sound which converts environmental monitoring data into an accessible format so that policymakers and the general public can understand how human decisions are improving water quality in Long Island Sound. She also contributed to developing the Unified Water Study which monitors water quality in more than forty embayments in Long Island Sound in collaboration with a large number of volunteer samplers.

She has served as the Research Coordinator for the Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve since its designation in 2022. There, she leads a team of staff who conduct environmental monitoring in coastal waters of Connecticut and collaborates with policymakers and the public. She has active research focused on coastal environmental issues, including monitoring and modeling the ecosystem impacts of nutrient pollution in Long Island Sound and developing strategies to improve the success of ecosystem restoration.

Beyond her research, she provides service to the university by serving on our Undergraduate Program Advisory Committee and she served as Chair of the Coastal Perspectives Lecture Series for the past 13 years, which brings the public to campus to learn about environmental issues. She has and continues to serve as an advisor to many community-based and governmental environmental monitoring organizations, due to her unique ability to communicate scientific results to those with other backgrounds.

Although her position does not have any teaching or student mentoring requirements, Dr. Vaudrey has consistently demonstrated her passion and talent for teaching by teaching our First Year Experience course for Marine Sciences majors, as well as our required writing course, Marine Sciences and Society. Dr. Vaudrey supervises multiple graduate students and has mentored many undergraduate interns who have worked in her lab and at the CT NERR.

We are proud that Professor Vaudrey is a graduate of our PhD program in Oceanography! Congratulations to Professor Vaudrey on your achievements and your service to UConn and the broader community to protect our environment in Long Island Sound and beyond.