Congratulations to Clara DiVincenzo, Lucy Henthorn, and Isabel Leonard, who were recently awarded the prestigious National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship!
Clara DiVincenzo is a sophomore at UNC majoring in Biology and Statistics and Analytics with a minor in Marine Sciences. At UNC, she is a Buckley Public Service Scholar, Biology Ambassador, Biology Peer Instructor, and Morehead-Cain Scholar. Her research in the Castillo Lab in the Department of Earth, Marine, and Environmental Sciences focuses on the molecular mechanisms of coral-algal symbioses.
Lucy Henthorn is currently a sophomore studying Environmental Science and Marine Science at UNC. Her current research focuses on the Thermal Limits of different North Atlantic fish species and how acclimation temperature affects their thermal limits, and she plans to write an Honors Thesis focused on predicting the migration and habitat ranges of these fish species based on current climate change models.
Isabel Leonard is currently a sophomore majoring in biology and minoring in marine science. As a part of her NOAA Hollings application, Isabel focused on an independent research project about Queen conch conservation in the Bahamas that she headed from high school and carried into her first year here at UNC. Her research centered around finding ways to prevent overfishing using citizen science by employing commercial fishermen in collecting data about conch sexual maturity. Isabel hopes to be able to continue research like this on a higher level during her internship at a NOAA facility next summer.