Dr. Lisa Milke is a Marine Sciences alumna who received her Master’s in Oceanography from UConn in 2001 and her PhD in Biology from Dalhousie University in Canada in 2006. This interview was carried out by Patricia Myer, a current graduate student, on April 20^th, 2021. We discussed her current job at NOAA, her path there from UConn, and advice for current graduate students.

Patricia: What is your current position?

Lisa: I am Chief of the Aquaculture Systems and Ecology Branch at the NOAA Milford lab in Connecticut.

Q: What does the typical day look like at your job?

Lisa: I think there’s no such thing as the typical day. Things are cyclical; you have seasonal activities that come and go. And at this point, I spend a lot more time leading a group of scientists than doing my own research. I consider myself the bureaucracy facilitator and problem solver for the group so that they can focus on the science. So, for me it depends what deadline or problem arises on any particular day.

Q: Could you expand a bit on how your work differs during Covid and before, and what kind of work you do at the Milford Lab?

Lisa: The Milford lab was started in 1931, and we focus on aquaculture research, shellfish research and the interactions between aquaculture and the environment.

Usually, this time of year we have experiments running, people out in the field, and the hatchery up and running. We would be doing research on effects of ocean acidification on different shellfish species. We would have oyster cages in the water, using cameras to identify at fish assemblages and how the cages can create habitat. There’s also ongoing work developing and testing probiotics for oysters in commercial hatcheries.  This is just a bit of the work we usually do.  There’s usually a wide variety going on research-wise.

During Covid, some research has continued, but in a very restricted way. Staff are only allowed to be in the facility if you’re deemed ‘essential’. There are protocols in place to make sure that two people aren’t in the same room at the same time and activities are being conducted safely. So, while we’ve been getting some lab work done, there is also a lot of writing being done by folks at home.  I personally haven’t been to the lab in over a year.

Much of what I do, which doesn’t change whether I’m home or in the lab, is getting people what they need to get their work done.  This could be managing budgets, trying to get approval for someone to be in the lab, finding money to get our research vessel repaired, putting a signature on some form, reviewing proposals and manuscripts or making connections among different groups inside and outside NOAA.

Q: What path did you take to get from UConn to your current position at NOAA?

Lisa: I did my masters with Evan Ward on, of course, shellfish feeding.  I really enjoyed the work I was doing, but I wanted to do something a bit more applied. I tried to get a technician position when I was finishing and couldn’t find something.  I knew I wanted to do my PhD anyway, so I ended up going directly into that after graduation.

I moved to Canada, where they had a national program at the time focused on applied aquaculture research. My work focused on identifying the nutritional requirements of postlarval sea scallops in an aquaculture setting.  As I was getting close to finishing, a job posted at the Milford lab for a shellfish physiologist, and it had been brought to my attention. I was like, no, no, I’m going to move to New Zealand and I’m going to do a post doc, that’s my plan. And the director of research at the National Research Council, where I was conducting my work, walked across the hall, and said, “you’re a shellfish physiologist, and there’s a job for a shellfish physiologist, so, if you don’t apply for that job you’re crazy.”

I ended up applying for it that evening and ultimately was offered the position.  I moved to CT before I was done with my dissertation, and it took me about a year and a half after starting at Milford Lab to finish. NOAA was really accommodating, largely because my dissertation research was the exact type work they wanted me to be doing. There was a lot of kindness from NOAA and the university as I was wrapping up.

I spent 10 years as a research fishery biologist at the Milford lab, where I really was in the lab doing hands on work.  About 6 years ago, my supervisor retired.  I offered to take over the branch chief position in an acting capacity with no intent to do it forever. However, once I was doing the job I realized that I didn’t hate it and I was kind of good at it, and so I switched positions. It was a very conscious move to leave the lab work side of things.  My current position is never where I aspired to be, but is a good fit.

Q: What about your graduate school experience, either Masters or PhD, would you say best helped prepare you for your career?

Lisa: I would say that there were two big pieces. One was learning very practical and broad problem solving. Some days you’re fixing plumbing, some days you’re growing algal cultures, some days you’re spawning animals, and some days you’re doing spreadsheets. Just being able to solve all those different problems and jump from thing to thing is great.  I no longer feel like I’m an expert in anything since I am more removed from day-to-day research, but there is a broad portfolio of things that I’ve done that informs my ability to participate productively in lots of different activities. I think that’s true to much of marine science; there’s a lot of interdisciplinary pieces to getting work done, and that backgrounds is a plus.

The other thing that really prepared me was just, the people. I think you have a tendency to make really long-lasting relationships when you’re in grad school, and those are people that I’m still in touch with.  And even people you don’t keep in contact with you are still connected to.  Last week actually, I was invited to participate in a review panel by a fellow UConn Marine Sciences alum who I haven’t seen in 15 years. It’s a small community, so having those people and building those relationships is helpful.

Q: What kind of advice would you have for current grad students?

Lisa: First, is to remember to breathe. Grad school is really hard. I think it’s this really weird time where you, in some ways, have a lot of freedom in your time and how you structure your day. But otherwise, you have a lot riding on something that you don’t have complete control over. A lot of different people are influencing your journey. I think that this dynamic can be really hard, and research is hard, and classes are hard. I think it’s okay to feel overwhelmed. To breathe and just move forward I think is a big piece of advice. I probably didn’t do that enough.

I would also say, do what feels right to you. I never had a career path or an end goal in mind, but I’ve always done what felt like the right thing to me.  It might not have been what my advisor thought I should do, or my parents thought I should do, or a fellow grad student thought I should do, but I’ve been true to myself and I think that has worked out really well.

And the other thing is kind of getting back to that people part of it. It’s such a small community. So, spend time getting to know people as people, because those relationships can be really helpful in starting your career, really helpful in continuing your career, and it’s just really lovely to have people to rely on when you come against bumps in the road.

Despite the 2-hour time difference, Michelle Fogarty answers my Skype call with enthusiasm at 8:30am MDT. Michelle is a recent Marine Sciences alumna, who is now based in Boulder, Colorado working at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). While at UConn, she studied air-sea interactions with Dr. Melanie Fewings. She graduated with her PhD in 2018, and her dissertation is available online for those interested in learning more. We spoke about her job search process, her current position, and advice she has for current graduate students. Interviewer: Molly James

 

Molly: What is your current position?

Michelle: I am a Postdoctoral Researcher in Marine Energy Resource Characterization at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Flatirons Campus, in Boulder, CO. I’ve been there for 8 months, since February 2019. NREL is a DOE-owned, contractor operated national lab, and we work with industry and academic partners to accelerate the commercialization of renewable energy technologies and diversify the US’s energy portfolio.

 

Q: How did you hear about it?

Michelle: I remember seeing the posting online somewhere — probably on LinkedIn, the Coastal List listserv or the MPOWIR jobs board. But, I didn’t apply based on the posting because there was no contact information for the principal investigator (PI), only instructions for submitting an application through the online portal. Without being able to research more about the group I’d be working with, I didn’t pursue it further. Later when I attended the Mid-Atlantic Bight Physical Oceanography and Meteorology (MABPOM) conference, I spoke with an acquaintance who knew about the NREL position and offered to send an introductory email to the PI. After a phone call with the PI, I decided to apply.

 

Q: What was the hiring process like?

Michelle: Over the course of three months, October to December 2018, I submitted my cover letter and CV, had a phone interview with Human Resources, and visited Boulder for an in-person interview. During the in-person visit, I gave a 15-minute presentation and fielded questions from a group of about 10 people, which was followed by a 1-hour Q&A session with a smaller interview committee that covered a larger range of topics and allowed me to ask questions of them as well.  A few weeks later, I was offered the job. I drove from CT to CO and reported for work at the beginning of February [2019]. I think it’s worth pointing out that from a hiring standpoint, there’s a difference between being brought on as a researcher or as a postdoc. As a postdoc, the main focus is on building your professional capacity, and NREL is committed to providing opportunities and mentorship along the way.

 

Q: What are you researching?

Michelle: As a member of the Marine Hydrokinetic Energy (MHK) group within the Water Power team, I am working on tidal energy resource characterization. My first project is to calculate characteristic flow and turbulence statistics from data collected at the Western Passage site near Eastport, Maine and write a journal article describing the results. That data was collected before I began at NREL. I’m also working on preparations for another tidal energy site resource characterization field campaign in Cook Inlet, Alaska. The results of both projects will document relevant flow conditions at potential tidal energy sites, to be used to validate regional circulation models, and will help device simulation tools estimate realistic loads on tidal turbines. More recently, I’ve started to coordinate with outside partners to get two new wave buoys deployed in 2020 to increase our wave resource characterization efforts. I am motivated by knowing that the results of my research will be used to help solve real-world problems.

 

Q: What is your work life like and how does it differ from your experience during grad school?

Michelle: There is little obvious hierarchy at NREL on a day to day basis like there was in grad school (undergraduate students/graduate students/postdocs/staff/faculty, etc.). While I still do a lot of work independently, we work in teams. On a weekly basis I participate in more collaborative efforts than I typically did during grad school. I work with people at all stages in their careers, and the tasks I’m given are based on my skills, my willingness to participate, and my availability.

I work a 40-hour week and complete a time sheet that accounts for each hour of work and which project the work was associated with, so that’s quite a bit different than the grad school structure. It feels more like a consulting job, where you are required to bill out your hours to a specific project. I have a cubical, and most of my time is spent working independently at my desk, with various project-based and MHK or Water Power group meetings throughout the week. I will continue to attend conferences like Ocean Sciences to keep in touch with the network of people I developed during grad school, and will get to know a new community of people at marine energy related conferences, too.

 

Q: What advice do you have for current graduate students?

Michelle: Talk to as many people as possible, you never know which connection will turn out to be useful. Keep notes of those interactions. Start doing this as early in your graduate school career as possible so 1) you get comfortable with it and 2) you develop relationships out of genuine interest and aren’t making the initial attempt to network at the moment you need something. Talk with people who have jobs like the one you think you want and to people who have jobs you’re “sure” you have no interest in. Do this through informal conversations at conferences, at events that have nothing to do with work, and invite people you’ve met in person or found online to participate in informational interviews with you on the phone or in person. I highly recommend sending hand-written thank you notes after those informational interviews, too. I have always been impressed at how willing people are to give their time and sending a thank you card is a small way to show how much you appreciate the kindness.

In 2018, seven graduate students from the Department of Marine Sciences completed their degrees, five with master’s and two with doctorates. We checked in a year later to see what they’ve been up to.

Michelle Fogarty landed a postdoctoral researcher position in Marine Energy Resource Characterization at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. On the other side of the country, Ellen Johnson is in San Diego, California working as a content writer and science communicator. Check out her blog, currentseablog.com, to read some of her articles about sustainability and the ocean. After completing his undergraduate and master’s studies at UConn, Matthew Lacerra began his doctorate at Princeton University where he is studying paleo-oceanography in Dr. Daniel Sigman’s group. Almariet Palm scored a position as a Project Geologist with HRP Associates Inc in Farmington, Connecticut. Gihong Park conferred his doctorate and continued at Avery Point as a postdoctoral research associate with his PhD advisor, Dr. Hans Dam. Julie Pringle moved back to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts and began working as a Field Science Coordinator for a local non-profit called the Great Pond Foundation. She commented on being back in the field, “after spending the majority of my graduate research in the lab, I’m really enjoying all the field work!”  Last but not least, Heidi Yeh started her doctorate studying oyster aquaculture at Rutgers University in New Jersey. She is “employing genetic techniques to promote sustainable seafood production.”

Some recent alumnae/i entered the next step in academia, while others moved into the work force. This just goes to show that a graduate degree from the Department of Marine Sciences can prepare you for a variety of career paths. It will be interesting to see where they wind up next!

 

Molly James